Written questions

Children: Maintenance

Lords · Question HL1725 · Tabled 7 Jul 2026 · Department for Work and Pensions · Official record

Answered 15 Jul 2026

Question

Asked by Baroness Debbonaire

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the methods used by absent parents on incomes above £156,000 to evade full and accurate assessment for child maintenance by the courts.

Answer

Answered by Baroness Sherlock, 15 Jul 2026

Where a parent’s gross income exceeds £156,000 a year, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes a maximum maintenance calculation. Any further consideration of child maintenance is a matter for the courts, which have their own mechanisms for examining th...