Child Maintenance Service 2026-04-27 (2)
2026-04-27
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent's case where a successful tribunal appeal led to arrears being awarded but no maintenance payment due to significant redundancy and asset holdings highlights the issue.
My constituent successfully appealed at tribunal, with both the judge and Child Maintenance Service agreeing that declared income did not reflect true earnings. Despite receiving substantial redundancy payments and holding significant assets including property and pensions, no maintenance is being paid. This exposes a gap in how redundancy payments are treated by CMS. Will the Minister urgently review this?
Part of the challenge is that legislation requires using earnings information provided by HMRC, and since redundancy payments up to £80,000 are tax-exempt, they do not show up. I will share concerns raised with Baroness Sherlock.
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Assessment & feedback
Urgent review requested but only stated as sharing concerns without committing to a timeline or action
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Redundancy payments are not considered in standard maintenance calculation, raising concerns about families' support.
If his Department will review the adequacy of the treatment of redundancy payments by the Child Maintenance Service. Redundancy payments are not taken into account and only capital may be considered through an asset variation if at least £31,250 is held in a bank or savings account. The service considers redundancy payment when looking at arrears.
Redundancy payments up to £80,000 are tax-exempt and do not show in earnings information provided by HMRC. The service may consider redundancy payment when looking at arrears.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific review requested but only explained current treatment without commitment to review
Response accuracy