The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that single and separated parents who have previously received no maintenance from their former partner could start receiving payments for the first time.
As part of the three year process of closing all existing Child Support Agency (CSA) cases, the Department will be writing to parents with details of when their case is due to close and advice about the next steps they should take.
The process is beginning with cases previously labelled “nil-assessed” – those where no maintenance is due from the non-resident parent. Parents in these cases will be invited to consider their options in recognition that circumstances may have changed since the initial assessment was made and increased accuracy of data used in the new statutory child maintenance system.
Child Maintenance Minister, Steve Webb MP has stated that parents ‘may be surprised at the support available to them’ and those who receive a letter from the CSA are urged to consider their options carefully.
Further information is available for Child Maintenance Shake Up.
