Single Parent FAQs: Child Maintenance Arrangements – Issue 26

The three ways to arrange child maintenance are:

• a private arrangement
• using a solicitor
• using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

See more information.

Child maintenance payments are disregarded for benefits and will not reduce your benefit income.

The child maintenance has a basic rate if the paying parent’s gross weekly income is between £200 and £800. The child maintenance payment is a percentage of the paying parent’s income.

The following percentages of the gross weekly income will apply:

12% for one qualifying child

16% for two qualifying children

19% for three or more qualifying children

If the paying parents income is over £800 per week, the basic rate will apply for the first £800 and then a basic plus rate for the income over the £800.

If a paying parent’s gross weekly income is £100 per week or less, or if they receive an income-based benefit, a flat rate is used for child maintenance.

The flat rate is £7 per week regardless of the number of children.

If you think the Child Maintenance Service has made a mistake in your child maintenance calculation you can ask them to look at it again. This is called a revision or a mandatory reconsideration. The mistake could be because they got the number of children wrong or did not use the paying parent’s correct income.

Depending on what is found in the revision you could then go on to ask for a supersession or a variation.

Details of how to ask for a revision will be included in the letter you received about the calculation. More information can be found here.

If the paying parent lives abroad

If your child’s other parent lives abroad you can still use the Child Maintenance Service if your child’s other parent is:

• A UK civil servant or works within Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service
• A member of the armed forces
• Working for a company that is based and registered in the UK
• Working on secondment for a UK regional health authority or local council.

If your child’s other parent does not fit into one of these you can ask the Scottish Government for advice by emailing, phoning or writing to them at:

Email: maintenanceenforcement@gov.scot

Telephone: 0131 244 2417 or 0131 244 4829

Fax: 0131 244 4848

The Scottish Government Justice Directorate Central Authority and International Law Team St Andrew’s House

Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG

Both parents are legally responsible for the financial costs of bringing up their children. The parents do not need to have been married or in a civil partnership and the father’s name does not need to be on the child’s birth certificate.

The amount of child maintenance paid can be decided by the parents, through a solicitor or the Child Maintenance Service.

Child maintenance is normally paid while the parent who looks after the child get Child Benefit for them. This can be up to the age of 20.