Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what process or procedure a non-resident parent can use to request an updated salary figure to be used if it has changed by less that 25 per cent from historic income records for the purpose of calculating child maintenance.

My Department has no plans to change its current approach to assessing income. Information obtained from HMRC, for use in calculating maintenance, is for the most recent year for which they hold a complete tax record.

In cases where a parent provides evidence that the income figure used is not the most recent tax year for which HMRC have complete information, for example because the client’s tax record is clerical, there is an escalation process which allows HMRC either to confirm the information already provided as correct, or to provide an updated Historic Income figure.

If at any point an individual’s income changes by at least 25 per cent, the Department may make a new assessment based on current earnings information provided by the paying parent. Setting the threshold at 25 per cent helps to provide stability in the financial arrangements for both the parent with care and non-resident parent. The Department has no plan to review this threshold. At annual review, there is no threshold and the calculation will be amended to reflect the latest income information received from HMRC.