Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether hours of care during overnight stays and holidays are included in calculations of payments to recipients of child support.

Where the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service work out how much maintenance should be paid, a reduction can apply where parents share the care of a child.

For a reduction in the amount of child maintenance to be considered, a paying parent must provide overnight care for the child in the case for at least 52 nights per year. Overnight care can take place on a weekly basis, or in blocks of nights/weeks.