Public Affairs

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Published: Tuesday, 03 August 2021 16:24

DWP are consulting on ‘Child Maintenance: modernising and improving our service’. The deadline for this is this Friday 6^th August 2021.

Details of the consultation can be found here. We encourage all FNF members and service users to respond. An official FNF response will also be submitted.

The questions are in the 21-page document linking from the one above. These are summarised below for your convenience.

We would also welcome comments on any of these questions this week. Please share any particular ideas they have on these questions with us at admin@fnf.org.uk with CMS in the subject heading.

Whilst some of the proposals remove token (administrative) arrears from the books, others are intended to extract further income e.g. from unearned income such as room rentals, dividends, interest and other income being declared to HMRC. For some this may be fine, for others it may well tip them over the edge. Please encourage individuals to respond by sharing the link above

Responses to the consultation need to go to caxtonhouse.legislation@dwp.gov.uk by 11:45pm on Friday 6^th August.

• Question 1. What is your view on including a paying parent’s unearned income alongside their earned income in the initial CMS calculation, rather than only when a variation is requested?

• Question 2. What are your views on our plans to make a maintenance calculation based on a paying parent’s statement of their estimated income for the remainder of the tax year, until information can be obtained from HMRC at the annual review?

• Question 3. What are your views on our proposal to re-assess a maintenance calculation where a self-employed parent’s income has changed before the end of the relevant tax year?

• Question 4. What are your views on our plans to extinguish arrears balances in cases that meet the proposed requirements outlined in this paper?

• Question 5. What are your views on our proposal to set the maximum limit for such cases at £6.99?

• Question 6. What are your thoughts on our proposal to extinguish arrears balances in cases that meet the proposed requirements outlined in this paper?

• Question 7. What are your thoughts on our proposal to use all forms of communication appropriate to customer needs including digital?

• Question 8. What are your views on our plan to extend our existing online service for employers and look to communicating with third parties digitally in the future regarding Child Maintenance cases?

• Question 9. Do you have any comments in relation to the inclusion of private pension providers, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and all types of companies that offer, promote or sell investment management services or facilitate share trading to the list of persons and organisations who have a duty to provide information to the Secretary of State?

• Question 10. Do you have any comments in relation to the inclusion of academy proprietors in the list of persons and organisations who have a duty to provide information to the Secretary of State when there is already a data sharing duty between an academy proprietor and local authorities?

What do you think?

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