Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria he used to determine that the threshold at which a change in income can lead to an adjustment in child maintenance payments should be set at 25 per cent.

In determining the level of threshold the criteria considered were: to set a threshold which offered a stable maintenance liability to provide greater certainty to both parents whilst also remaining fair in dealing with unexpected and major changes in circumstances; and, to also set the threshold at a level which supports operational efficiency and secures the right balance between recalculating maintenance and collection and enforcement activity.