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Single Parent FAQs: Child Maintenance Arrangements – Issue 26

24/01/2024

Our advice and information team who work on our Lone Parent Helpline, webchat and Ask a Question feature, receive questions from single parents around Scotland every day.

Child maintenance arrangements is something we receive a lot of questions on. See some of the questions received on this below.

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Take a look at the FAQ's

What are the ways that child maintenance can be arranged?

The three ways to arrange child maintenance are:

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

See more information.

My ex-partner wants to pay child maintenance for our two children, but I can’t rely on him I would prefer to keep my benefits I don’t want the child maintenance payments to reduce my benefit income.

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

I have recently separated from my partner, and we need to try and sort out child maintenance, how do we calculate child maintenance?

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.

My ex-partner has lost his job and has no income from employment, he is claiming universal credit, will he have to pay something from his universal credit award towards child maintenance?

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.

I used the Child maintenance service to help sort out our child maintenance because ex partner never paid on time or in full, however I don’t agree with the calculation. What can I do about this?

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.

My ex partner has moved abroad can I still claim child maintenance for my child?

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

My friend told me that she gets child maintenance payments from her ex partner for their son, that he has never met. So can I claim child maintenance from my daughters dad even though they have never met?

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.

At what age would child maintenance payments stop being paid?

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.

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See our previous issues of Single Parent FAQs on:

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