New Clause 16
Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
4:30 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
The clause would allow the commission to
“consider a variation on its own initiative”
rather than leaving it to the parent with care. At present, it is up to the parent with care to challenge a maintenance calculation and to seek a variation if they believe that the calculation does not truly reflect the non-resident parent’s financial circumstances.
In practice, it can be hard for a parent with care to take such action, and the criteria under which a variation may be granted are tightly drawn. Also, it can be difficult for the parent with care to access sufficient information and evidence regarding the non-resident parent’s financial circumstances, or to prove her case to the satisfaction of a tribunal.
The commission will have access to considerable financial information and will be sufficiently experienced to know to look at a non-resident parent’s income, and to spot an anomaly that, on investigation, would suggest a variation. Such action is often difficult for a parent with care to undertake, and they might not have the confidence or ability to take action, even when they ought to.