Child maintenance 2012 scheme: proposed changes

This consultation asked respondants to give their views on the following:

• changes to allow caseworkers from the Child Maintenance Service to request current income information from the non-resident parent at the application and annual review application stages
• basing a non-resident parent’s income on historic income provided by HM Revenue and Customs even where that figure is nil
• making parents responsible for reporting relevant changes in circumstances relating to a variation in their maintenance calculation

The consultation document also sets out details of 2 related measures which did not require a change of policy and so were not open for consultation.

We welcomed comments from stakeholders, in particular:

• parents who live apart
• representative organisations for parents who live apart or their children
• representatives of the legal profession and members of the general public with an interest in child maintenance issues