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Written question asked by Tom Tugendhat (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Lilian Greenwood (Labour) on Monday, 14 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.


Children: Maintenance

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the formulas used by the Child Maintenance Service to determine child maintenance payments.

Answer

The Department has reviewed the child maintenance calculation to ensure it remains fair, reflects parents' financial circumstances and encourages compliance.

Following that review, we plan to reduce the income-change threshold from 25 per cent to 15 per cent and include unearned income within the standard calculation.

We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our CMS provisions and consider any future evidence for change.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
21201
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Children Maintenance
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk