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Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

Let me have another go at this. Let us start with a situation where the non-resident parent has two relationships, the first one of which is currently in one of the statutory systems, either CS1 or CS2, and there is another parent with care involved. I agree entirely with the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, that if two children have to be dealt with under the formula where there was only one before, that will affect the percentage that applies to the non-resident parent and the sum must be divided among the number of children involved. However, that affects only the amount that is then due to the parent with care who is in the system; it does not of itself drive an adjustment to a voluntary arrangement. If it were the other way around so that there was a voluntary arrangement to start with and a new arrangement with the same non-resident parent, and the second relationship resulted in a request to be in the statutory system, the calculation on the percentages to be applied to the non-resident parent’s income would be driven on the basis of two children. Whatever sum is produced will be divided by two for each of the two children. The parent with care who is in the system would get that amount, but it could not force any adjustment to the pre-existing voluntary arrangement, regardless of whether that arrangement involved a higher or a lower sum. It may be that that would cause the parties to seek a renegotiation of the voluntary arrangement. If the renegotiation is not successful, there is an option for the non-resident parent to bring the case within the statutory system so that the formula would apply to both situations. This would not of itself disturb a voluntary arrangement. Although clearly the number of children being supported in the system would affect the calculation, it would not be applied to the voluntary system.