The changes, announced by work and pensions minister Maria Miller,(pictured), will mean parents on income-related benefits who live apart from their children will have to pay £10 rather than £5 a week towards keeping their children fed and housed.
Currently each parent on benefits pays £5 per week in maintenance regardless of how many children they have.
Parents who share the care of their children on a 50-50 basis will also be exempt from paying child maintenance under the new rules, in a bid to offer a fairer deal for those who equally care for their children.
The changes will come into place from October, when the existing Child Support Agency statutory scheme is replaced with a new single scheme.
Ms Miller said, ‘Parents’ responsibility continues post separation, particularly when it comes to financial support. We are determined to support, encourage and - if necessary - enforce parental financial responsibility. It is right that those claiming benefits make a real contribution towards their children’s upbringing. Our wider welfare reforms will ensure that working to support your family is always a better option than dependency on benefits.’
‘The Government wants to encourage and support parents to make their own family-based arrangements whenever possible because they are better for families. We are also committed to providing a much better statutory service for those separated parents for whom this is not possible. We will be introducing the new scheme through a pathfinder from October. It will be faster and simpler than the two Child Support Agency schemes now in operation. And most importantly, it will be fairer for both mothers and fathers.’
