27 January 2003
CHILD SUPPORT REFORMS AIM TO REDUCE CHILD POVERTY – DES BROWNE
Faster and more reliable maintenance payments are the aim of the Child Support Reforms which will take effect in Northern Ireland from 3 March 2003 as part of the UK wide reform of Child Support.
Commenting on the new reforms which were announced in Parliament today, Des Browne MP, the Minister with responsibility for Social Development, said:
"These changes are central to the Government’s commitment to reduce child poverty. Our aim is to put children first and to ensure that both parents accept their financial responsibilities.
"Initially the new arrangements will apply to new cases only but we will extend them to existing cases when we are satisfied that the scheme is working well."
The key points of the Child Support Reforms include:
- A simpler method of calculating Child Support using a percentage of the non-resident parent’s net income. (15pc for one child, 20pc for two children and 25pc for three or more children).
- The introduction of a Flat Rate of Maintenance payable by non-resident parents who are in receipt of a wide range of benefits.
- The introduction of the Child Maintenance Premium which will allow parents with care on Income Support or income based Jobseeker’s Allowance to keep up to £10 per week of any maintenance paid for their children.
- Variations from the simple calculation in prescribed circumstances.
- Non-resident parents will qualify for shared care where they have overnight care of the qualifying child(ren) for a least one night per week or 52 nights per year.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The current case load of the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland is 35,619.
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