Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the income of the highest-earning parent is used to assess eligibility for child benefit rather than the joint incomes of both parents.

If the Government were to use total household income as the criteria for the High Income Child Benefit Charge on households, this would require collecting information of the incomes of everyone in each of the eight million households receiving Child Benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test. The Government’s approach withdraws Child Benefit from those on high incomes, whilst having no impact on the majority of claimants.