The amount Paying Parents pay is based on a means tested calculation set out in primary legislation. This applies different rates above certain earnings thresholds that is higher for those on higher incomes and a flat rate of £7 a week for those with the lowest income. The Department has not updated these earnings thresholds since they were set in 1998. In practice, this means that parents now pay child maintenance on much lower incomes than was originally intended. The Department told us tha...

The amount Paying Parents pay is based on a means tested calculation set out in primary legislation. This applies different rates above certain earnings thresholds that is higher for those on higher incomes and a flat rate of £7 a week for those with the lowest income. The Department has not updated these earnings thresholds since they were set in 1998. In practice, this means that parents now pay child maintenance on much lower incomes than was originally intended. The Department told us that updating the earnings bands was a policy question, and the bands were considered to still be appropriate when the calculation was last considered as pa Type: conclusion | Number: 29 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 7. PAC conclusion: The Department’s ability to collect child maintenance is limited by the affordability of payments and the system risks creating a poverty trap for some Paying Parents. 7. PAC recommendation: As part of its Treasury Minute response, the Departme