Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of not being considered the primary caregiver, where a shared custody agreement is in place, on Child Maintenance payments for subsequent children.

Where a paying parent has overnight care of a child for whom they pay child maintenance, for at least 52 nights a year (i.e. an average of one night per week), their overall liability is reduced to reflect this.

Reductions are made according to bands, reflecting each additional night per week of overnight care.