HUNDREDS of thousands of parents will see the money they receive from ex-partners for their children slashed under new child maintenance plans.
At present, 440,000 parents pay using the child maintenance service (CMS) direct-pay option, which is fee-free.
Nearly one million children depend on the CMS, but the changes will leave many families with slightly less financial support[/caption]
While 310,000 parents use the ‘collect and pay’ service, which currently costs 20% to the paying parent and 4% to the receiving parent.
A shake-up to payments means ALL parents will now us a new collect and pay service, which will cost 2% to both receiving and paying parents from 2027/28 if approved by ministers.
The collect and pay service has been slammed by campaigners for charging parents excessive fees and in May last year the government announced it planned to shake-up the payments system.
Yesterday, the government quietly put out an update to its plans to reform child maintenance payments, which affects nearly one million households.
It means for a £100 payment, a paying parent would pay £102 (£100 liability and £2 fee) and the receiving parent would receive £98.
Child maintenance covers the cost of paying your child’s living expenses when one of the parents does not live with the child.
It’s made when you’ve separated from the other parent or if you’ve never been in a relationship.
This is a financial arrangement between you and the other parent of your child.
Separated couples can arrange child maintenance payments between themselves or use the government’s CMS, which does this on their behalf.
It’s commonly used to help ensure that victims of domestic abuse or hostile previous relationships can get a fair share when helping to bring up their children.
Anybody with children under 16 (or under 20 if they are still in full-time education) can use the CMS.
Commenting on the proposed changes to the CMS, a spokesperson for single-parent charity Gingerbread said: “Any family can break up, but children should not fall into poverty or go without because of a breakdown in relationships between parents.
“When this does happen, they need the Child Maintenance Service, and the current system is not working”
“This is a big win for single parents… and Gingerbread – although the reforms need to be implemented in the right way to avoid unintended consequences.”
Who has to pay child maintenance?
You must have a child maintenance arrangement if your child is under 16 (or under 20 if they are still in full-time education).
Both parents are responsible for the costs of raising their children, even if they do not see them.
You don’t have to arrange maintenance through the CMS – you can choose to arrange it directly with the other parent.
Paying child maintenance doesn’t mean you have a right to see the child.
If you’d like to see them, you should first try agreeing with the person looking after them.
If you don’t think you’re the child’s parent, you must prove why.
You might have to pay until you prove you’re not the child’s parent.
The CMS can only ask you to pay maintenance if all the following rules apply to you and your family:
- You’re all “habitually resident” in the UK. This means you’ve made the UK your home and intend to live here for the time being.
- The child is under 16 or under 20 and in approved education.
The Child Maintenance Service can:
- Work out an amount to pay
- Arrange payments and take action if a parent does not pay
- Sort out disagreements about parentage
- Try to find the other parent if you do not know where they are
You don’t have to pay through the CMS if you already pay maintenance for the child:
- To someone else through the CMS
- Under a court order which is less than a year old
How do I apply for child maintenance?
VISIT the ‘Get help arranging child maintenance’ on Gov.UK to apply to the CMS, if you choose to use it.
When you contact the Child Maintenance Service, you’ll need:
- The reference number you got from the ‘Get help arranging child maintenance’ tool
- Your bank details
- Your National Insurance number
If you do not have day-to-day care of the child, you’ll also be asked about:
- Your employment details
- Your income and any benefits you get
- Private pension contributions
Tell the CMS if it’s unsafe for the other parent to know your name (if you’ve changed it) or your location.
Tell the CMS if the paying parent has other income or expenses that you want them to consider when working out payments.
This is called ‘applying for a variation’ and either parent can apply.
The £20 application fee was scrapped for all on February 26, 2024.
How much do I have to pay?
The CMS will initially assess what you have to pay based on what the other parent has told it.
Information on each parent from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also be assessed.
It will then phone you to ask you for information to calculate exactly what you should pay.
If the CMS can’t contact you by phone, it will write to you. You have 14 days to reply.
The CMS will try to arrange a face-to-face interview with you if either:
- You didn’t know you’re the parent of the child
- You’re not named on the birth certificate
If you use the Child Maintenance Service, they will work out your child maintenance amount based on the paying parent’s circumstances.
You can then either:
- Arrange payments with the other parent yourself (Direct Pay)
- Use the CMS to collect and pass on payments (Collect and Pay) – there are fees for this service
Both parents are given a choice. If either parent chooses Direct Pay, the payment method will be Direct Pay.
You don’t have to pay any fees when you arrange payment this way.
But if the paying parent misses or is late with payments, the CMS can change the payment method to Collect and Pay.
You must pay a fee each time you make or receive a regular child maintenance payment through Collect and Pay. The fee is:
- 20% (which is added to the payment) for paying parents
- 4% (which is taken off the payment) for receiving parents
What happens if you don’t make a payment?
If you get payments using Direct Pay, tell the CMS about a missed payment.
If the CMS arranges payment for you through Collect and Pay, you do not need to do anything.
They’ll take action when a payment is missed.
They can apply for a court order (called a liability order) and take legal action to recover any unpaid child maintenance.
They may charge the paying parent for the cost of any action they take.
This is on top of the child maintenance they owe.
