THOUSANDS of parents will soon benefit from a huge change to child maintenance rules.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has told The Sun that it will scrap the application fee to use the government’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS) next month.
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It will also wipe any existing arrears worth £7 or less that any parent may owe their ex-partner to help with their child’s living costs.
Child maintenance covers how your child’s living costs will be paid 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.
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Seperated 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.
But most parents need to pay a £20 application fee to enrol on the government’s service.
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Up to now, only those who are victim of domestic violence and assault can get the fee waived.
However, from Monday, February 26, everyone applying to use the CMS will be exempt from the fee.
DWP Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie said: “We are removing the £20 application fee to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) so no child misses out because their parents can’t afford to apply.”
However, the DWP is urging that parents wishing to use the CMS don’t hold off applying until the application fee is scrapped.
This is because you can’t backdate a claim for child maintenance.
Once the claim is open you can claim any arrears from the date the claim was made.
The first child maintenance payment is usually made within 12 weeks of applying so the longer you put it off the longer you’ll have to wait to receive the cash.
Viscount Younger of Leckie said: “Our message to parents is clear, don’t delay in making an application to the CMS so full financial support is received as soon as possible.”
The DWP is also wiping any unpaid child maintenance between parents worth £7 or less from February 26.
Usually the CMS arranges payments for you and if a parent misses it, the service will take take action.
This means that if one parent owes anything as little as just £1, the CMS will continue to notify that parent to make make a payment.
The CMS 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 too. This is on top of the child maintenance they owe.
However, the DWP has argued that arrears worth £7 or less are not worthy of direct action and so will write off any below this amount.
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 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:
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
How do I apply for child maintenance?
Use 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 not safe 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.
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There is a £20 application fee but you do not need to pay this if you:
- Have experienced domestic abuse
- Are under 19 years old
- Live in Northern Ireland
