Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Child Maintenance Service formula is calculated using the gross income of recipients; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using the net income of recipients to make that calculation.

The former Child Support Agency (CSA) was consistently criticised for the complexity of its calculation process and the formation of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) in 2012 sought to address this by moving from an assessment on a net income basis to a gross income basis.

CMS assessments are based initially on gross income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Taking information directly from HMRC allows us to capture a wide range of income types received by paying parents. Basing the assessment on gross income data has enabled the Child Maintenance Service to significantly speed up the set-up of new cases which can be key to securing regular payments.