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The child support schemes

There are currently three statutory child support schemes operating in Great Britain under the Child Support Act 1991 (as amended): the 2012 scheme, and the 1993 and 2003 schemes. The 2012 scheme is the current scheme and open to new applicants. It is administered by the Child Maintenance Service.

The 1993 and 2003 schemes are closed to new applicants and all cases with ongoing maintenance liabilities have been transferred to the 2012 scheme. Only “arrears-only” cases continue to operate under these schemes.

Information on the current 2012 scheme can be found in the Library briefings on how child maintenance is calculated and child maintenance arrears and enforcement.

Why is only the paying parent’s income considered?

The government explains the maintenance calculation is representative of the amount a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them. The person with care’s (of the child) income is not considered, as “they are already contributing as the child’s primary caregiver and their income should not remove the responsibility of a paying parent to support their child”.

For more detail, the Department for Work and Pensions also provided the following rationale in now archived guidance to the 2003 scheme (PDF) published in 2012. It set out the principle that paying parents must take some responsibility in financially supporting their child if they have the means to do so:

The parent with care has more money and/or a high earning new partner, why should the non-resident parent continue to pay maintenance?

The non-resident parent now has a new partner and children to support, why should they continue to pay maintenance?

The principle underpinning the statutory child maintenance service is that a parent’s responsibility to support his or her child is an obligation which should have the highest priority and that this financial responsibility is absolute. Child maintenance is a contribution towards the cost of bringing up a child and this includes not only such items as food and clothing but also it is a contribution towards the home that the child lives in and the associated costs of running that home.

Under the 2003 child maintenance scheme the income of the person with care or their partner is not relevant to the child maintenance calculation and does not affect the non-resident parent’s liability to contribute to the support of their child or children. The child maintenance calculation is based entirely on the net income of a non-resident parent and is an approximation of what they would spend if their child lived with them. Allowances are applicable if the non-resident has other children living within their household.

The statutory child maintenance service does not guarantee a particular financial outcome for a child within the service; it ensures parents take a degree of financial responsibility for their children. What the person with care is receiving should not remove the responsibility of a non-resident parent to support their child and in most cases the person with care will be supporting the child through the provision of a home and related expenses. This is why the majority of non-resident parents, including those with lower incomes or who are receiving benefits, are required to make at least some contribution to the support of their child.

Why is gross income used rather than net income?

The Child Maintenance Service uses gross weekly income to calculate which of the fives rates of child maintenance that should be paid. Gross weekly income is defined as income before any deductions for tax but after any contributions to approved personal or occupational pension schemes.

In short, the government has explained that using gross income allows child maintenance calculations to be made “quickly and accurately”, as it can easily access information from HMRC.

In the 1993 and 2003 child maintenance schemes, net weekly income was used to calculate the amount of child maintenance due.

This was changed to enable the Child Maintenance Service and HMRC databases to “talk” to one another, allowing the Service to gain information more easily on the paying parent’s earnings. In its response to a consultation on ‘a new system of child maintenance’ (PDF, May 2007), the Department for Work and Pensions explained using data from HMRC will “calculate a liability on a more up-to-date income basis” as it “ensures a swifter assessment of income”.

This approach means many child maintenance cases will use the paying parent’s latest full tax year data from HMRC without needing to request it from them. However, by using such data it means the paying parent’s historic income, rather than their current income, is used in the calculation of child maintenance.

If a paying parent’s current income is at least 25% different from the HMRC historic figure, this should be reported to the Service for the calculation to be altered (see below).

What happens if the paying parent’s income changes?

When a paying parent’s income changes by at least 25% from the figure used by the Child Maintenance Service, the child maintenance calculation changes. A change in income (by 25%) is one of the changes a person must report to the Service when it happens. Under previous schemes, this tolerance was set at 5%, but changed to 25% under the current 2012 scheme.

Under the predecessor 2003 statutory child maintenance scheme, only a 5% change (either way) in the paying parent’s income was required for the then-Child Support Agency to recalculate child maintenance liabilities. In a 2012 impact assessment by the Department for Work and Pensions (PDF), it described this low threshold as a “failing” of the scheme, explaining this approach meant relatively small changes in income creating uncertainty for parents. It also said it resulted in staff diverting time and effort “away from keeping money flowing to children” to review a calculation.

The rationale for the 25% threshold was to provide greater certainty, whilst also remaining fair. This was set out in an answer to a parliamentary question given by the then pensions minister on 15 December 2014:

In determining the level of threshold the criteria considered were: to set a threshold which offered a stable maintenance liability to provide greater certainty to both parents whilst also remaining fair in dealing with unexpected and major changes in circumstances; and, to also set the threshold at a level which supports operational efficiency and secures the right balance between recalculating maintenance and collection and enforcement activity.

In a response to a parliamentary question on 14 October 2024, the current Labour government has confirmed that the 25% tolerance for income change falls within the scope of the current review of the child maintenance calculation. More information on this review can be found in section 2.2 of the Library briefing on how child maintenance is calculated.

Further information

More information on the Child Maintenance Service can be found in separate Library briefings, such as:

Or in the casework articles on:

About the author: Niamh Foley is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in child maintenance.

Disclaimer

The Commons Library does not intend the information in this article to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You should not rely upon it as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein. You should consult a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information. Read our briefing for information about sources of legal advice and help.

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