The primary source of financial support for students comes from the student support system through various loans and grants designed for their needs. Students are unable to claim Universal Credit if they are studying full-time, unless they meet specific exceptions such as being responsible for a child. Where eligible students make a claim for Universal Credit, income available to meet their everyday living costs such as a basic student maintenance loan are taken into account, avoiding duplication of support.

The Department is committed to supporting people to retrain, develop new skills and move into jobs in sectors experiencing workforce shortages. Jobcentre Plus works with employers to provide work experience and training placements, including Sector Based Work Academy Programme, helping people gain the experience and skills to fill these vacancies. In addition, we are offering up to 300,000 additional opportunities with priority referrals for young people as part of the Youth Guarantee.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1^st July 2026 to Question UIN 12993.

Where a parent’s gross income exceeds £156,000 a year, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes a maximum maintenance calculation. Any further consideration of child maintenance is a matter for the courts, which have their own mechanisms for examining the finances of those involved in proceedings where relevant.

Where a paying parent’s income is not fully reflected in a statutory maintenance calculation, the CMS can take account of certain forms of diverted and unearned income through the variation process where income has not been fully reflected in a maintenance calculation. Where information is disputed or appears not to reflect a parent's true circumstances, caseworkers can access specialist support, including the Financial Investigation Unit.

The Government continues to work closely with HMRC to improve the quality and timeliness of income data and strengthen the identification of complex income arrangements. Assessments and processes are kept under review to help ensure that child maintenance liabilities accurately reflect parents' financial circumstances and that all parents contribute appropriately towards their children.

The CMS can provide information to the courts where requested through the proper legal process, including information used in child maintenance calculations and, where relevant, findings from CMS investigations

The CMS remains committed to ensuring that parents meet their financial responsibilities to their children.

The £156,000 annual gross income limit reflects the £3,000 gross weekly income threshold introduced with the 2012 child maintenance scheme. The scheme was designed to provide a standard formula for assessing child maintenance in most cases. Where a paying parent’s income exceeds this threshold, receiving parents may apply to the courts for a top-up order. Higher-income cases can involve more complex financial arrangements and, as intended when the scheme was introduced, the courts remain responsible for determining any additional maintenance above the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculation limit.

The Government keeps all aspects of the child maintenance system under consideration, but there are currently no plans to uprate this threshold.

A paying parent with gross weekly income of £3,000 or above would be liable for child maintenance of approximately £294 per week for one qualifying child, £392 per week for two qualifying children and £482 per week for three or more qualifying children under the statutory formula, before any adjustments for shared care or other factors.

Where a paying parent changes jobs, The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.

People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.

Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the customer can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).

When income used to calculate the child maintenance assessment is disputed outside of the normal business as usual process, this can be referred for investigation by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), whose function is ensuring financial correctness of Child Maintenance assessments. Cases involving complex income can also be investigated by the FIU. This specialist team can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given.

Where the FIU establishes that potential offences contrary to the Child Support Act 1991 have been committed, the case is submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision regarding the viability of prosecution/conviction. The CMS is committed to prosecuting where it is in the public interest to do so, whilst balancing the welfare of all children involved in a maintenance assessment.

The FIU and HMRC are developing a new partnership to explore better intelligence sharing and joint working.

We are currently reviewing FIU work with a view to improving performance.

Furthermore, subject to securing primary legislation, we plan to remove Direct Pay and move to a single CMS service. This will enable the CMS to monitor all payments, respond more quickly to non-compliance, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse by removing the need for contact between parents and reducing the burden of reporting missed payments.

Where a paying parent changes jobs, The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.

People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.

Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the customer can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).

When income used to calculate the child maintenance assessment is disputed outside of the normal business as usual process, this can be referred for investigation by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), whose function is ensuring financial correctness of Child Maintenance assessments. Cases involving complex income can also be investigated by the FIU. This specialist team can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given.

Where the FIU establishes that potential offences contrary to the Child Support Act 1991 have been committed, the case is submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision regarding the viability of prosecution/conviction. The CMS is committed to prosecuting where it is in the public interest to do so, whilst balancing the welfare of all children involved in a maintenance assessment.

The FIU and HMRC are developing a new partnership to explore better intelligence sharing and joint working.

We are currently reviewing FIU work with a view to improving performance.

Furthermore, subject to securing primary legislation, we plan to remove Direct Pay and move to a single CMS service. This will enable the CMS to monitor all payments, respond more quickly to non-compliance, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse by removing the need for contact between parents and reducing the burden of reporting missed payments.

Where a paying parent changes jobs, The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.

People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.

Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the customer can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).

When income used to calculate the child maintenance assessment is disputed outside of the normal business as usual process, this can be referred for investigation by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), whose function is ensuring financial correctness of Child Maintenance assessments. Cases involving complex income can also be investigated by the FIU. This specialist team can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given.

Where the FIU establishes that potential offences contrary to the Child Support Act 1991 have been committed, the case is submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision regarding the viability of prosecution/conviction. The CMS is committed to prosecuting where it is in the public interest to do so, whilst balancing the welfare of all children involved in a maintenance assessment.

The FIU and HMRC are developing a new partnership to explore better intelligence sharing and joint working.

We are currently reviewing FIU work with a view to improving performance.

Furthermore, subject to securing primary legislation, we plan to remove Direct Pay and move to a single CMS service. This will enable the CMS to monitor all payments, respond more quickly to non-compliance, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse by removing the need for contact between parents and reducing the burden of reporting missed payments.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has no plans to introduce income-based pricing for utilities or merit goods for specific sectors.

Merit goods like essential healthcare, state schooling, and primary education remain free at the point of use for everyone, independent of income. For supplementary merit goods that require flat fees—such as NHS prescriptions and dental checkups—the government maintains fixed prices rather than income-scaled pricing.