PETITIONRejectedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Reform child maintenance to be fair, balanced and reflect modern families
Base child maintenance on net income and exclude non-guaranteed bonuses, factor in essential living and housing costs of paying parent, and protect meaningful access to both parents by discouraging withheld contact and supporting cooperative parenting except where safeguarding concerns exist.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
6
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 6/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 6/100,000
Background
The current child maintenance system focuses on gross income and often fails to account for disposable income, income stability, or unavoidable financial obligations of the non-resident parent, including continuing to pay the mortgage on the former family home. In some cases, it creates financial incentives that discourage shared parenting, causing hardship, reducing cooperation, increasing conflict, and producing outcomes that may not serve the child’s best interests.