Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the calculation formula for child maintenance special expenses travel cost claims.

A parent may apply for a contact cost variation for certain travel and accommodation expenses that would reasonably be expected to incur in order to maintain regular contact with a qualifying child, provided they are at least £10.00 per week. This threshold avoids the administrative burden of handling applications that would have little or no effect on the maintenance calculation and the whole amount of the claim can be considered.