Child Maintenance
Since the introduction of the Child Support Agency (CSA) in 1991, the Court can only make maintenance orders for children:
- Where both parties apply to the Court for a Consent Order in divorce proceedings
- Where a child is in fee-paying full-time education
- Where a child is undertaking a fee-paying vocational course
- Where a child is disabled, and there are care costs
- Where the non-resident parent lives abroad
- Where the child is a step-child
- Where a child is over 19
- To provide top-up maintenance in addition to CSA maintenance when the non-resident parent's income is £2,000 or more
Unless the child's parents can agree maintenance, the CSA is responsible for assessing how much child maintenance the non-resident parent should pay. The CSA will deal with maintenance for a child aged under 16, and 16-19 if in full-time education.
There are currently two schemes for calculating child maintenance, the 'old scheme' (covering cases until March 2003) and the 'new scheme' (for cases since March 2003).
Under the 'new scheme', the basic rate formula for calculating child maintenance is as follows:
| Number of children | Proportion of net income |
| One | 15% |
| Two | 20% |
| Three or more | 25% |
If the non-resident parent lives with other children, for whom child benefit is paid to him or his partner, his net income is reduced as follows:
| Number of children | Proportion net income is reduced |
| One | 15% |
| Two | 20% |
| Three or more | 25% |
A further reduction of 1/7th is applied for every night on average per week the child stays with the non-resident parent.
For further information and details of the rates applicable for parents on low incomes or benefits, please visit the CSA website www.csa.gov.uk.
In June 2008, the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 was passed by Parliament. It introduced new rules in relation to child maintenance, which come into force over the next few years:
- In July 2008, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) was established to replace the CSA;
- In 2009/10, new enforcement powers will be introduced to collect maintenance arrears, including the power by CMEC to take maintenance directly from the non-resident parentÕs bank account;
- In 2011, a new Statutory Maintenance Scheme will come into effect. Maintenance will be calculated based on the non-resident parentÕs gross income, rather than net income.
As and when the new rules are introduced, we will provide details here. In the meantime, for further information on the new Act, please visit the CMEC website at www.childmaintenance.org.
For advice on whether an application to Court or the CSA would be in your best interests, please contact Elizabeth Hodder at eah@gross.co.uk or Julie McDonald at jm@gross.co.uk.