Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service uses up-to-date income information automatically obtained from HMRC for non-resident parents when making maintenance calculations where HMRC does not possess income information for a full tax year.

Where the Child Maintenance Service requests information about a Paying Parent’s income HMRC will provide information for the most recent complete tax year they have in the last six years. In the majority of cases this will generate a clear and easily understood income figure. Where this is not possible the Child Maintenance Service will make a calculation based on information, which parents are legally required to provide, which demonstrates what the Paying Parent’s current income is.