An Open Letter to Parliament: The Child Maintenance System Is Failing Families

---

Introduction

The child maintenance system in the UK was designed with one clear purpose; to ensure that children are financially supported after separation.

But for many families, the reality looks very different today.

Behind closed doors, and increasingly in plain sight, there is a growing disconnect between what the system assumes and what families are actually experiencing.

This is not a debate about “paying” versus “receiving” parents.

This is about fairness, transparency, and the financial wellbeing of children.

The Reality Behind The Numbers

Child maintenance calculations are primarily based on gross taxable income as reported to HMRC under the Child Support Act 1991 and Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012.

On paper, this appears straightforward.

In practice, it creates major gaps.

For PAYE parents, income is visible and fixed. Maintenance is calculated before rent, mortgages, or basic living costs are considered.

For self-employed individuals and company directors, income may be structured through salaries, dividends, or retained profits within a business. This is lawful.

However, the system’s reliance on taxable income alone means it does not always reflect the full financial reality of a household.

When Income And Lifestyle Don’t Align

A recurring concern raised by families is the gap between declared income and observable lifestyle.

Reported cases describe circumstances where declared income is at or near the personal allowance threshold (currently £12,570 per year), and yet there appears to be access to:-

• Regular holidays

• High-value vehicles

• Significant discretionary spending

• Financial resources linked to business structures

This is not presented as wrongdoing. It does however raise a policy question:

Should a system designed to support children rely solely on declared income when wider financial capacity may not be visible?

The Cost of Raising a Child

At the lower end of the scale, in some cases child maintenance can amount to approximately £30 – £80 per month per child.

This is significantly below the real cost of raising a child in the UK.

Research from the Office for National Statistics and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation consistently shows that:-

• Single-parent households are significantly more likely to experience financial hardship

• Many families struggle to meet basic living standards without additional support

When maintenance falls short, the financial gap does not disappear.

It shifts, onto the parent providing day-to-day care.

Financial Outcomes After Separation

Many receiving parents report leaving relationships with:-

• No savings

• No housing security

• No financial resilience

• Full responsibility for childcare costs

In some cases, this reflects patterns consistent with financial or economic abuse, now recognised within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

When maintenance is then assessed at minimal levels, financial imbalance can continue long after separation.

The Other Side: PAYE Parents Under Pressure

At the same time, many PAYE parents report significant financial strain. They are assessed on gross income, without meaningful consideration of:-

• Mortgage or rent commitments

• Cost of living

• Loss of savings, pensions, or capital through divorce settlements

• Prior contributions, including provision of housing for children

Some have:-

• Transferred property or provided mortgage-free homes

• Continued paying housing costs for children post-separation

• Rebuilt households while maintaining full maintenance obligations

These factors are not fully reflected in current calculations.

Complex Families and Blended Households

Modern families are often not linear.

In many blended family situations, one parent may be paying a significant amount of child maintenance into another household, while simultaneously receiving only a minimal amount of maintenance for a child living in their own home.

This can create a marked imbalance, where:-

• One household carries a high outgoing child maintenance obligation

• The same household receives a comparatively low level of incoming support

The result is that financial pressure is not evenly distributed across the family network, even where responsibilities exist in both directions.

A System Built on Incomplete Data

The issue is not that one group is right and another is wrong.

The issue is structural:-

• Income is measured — but not full financial capacity

• Earnings are assessed — but not always real disposable income

• Liability is calculated — but not always contextualised

The Legal Framework, and Its Limits

The Child Maintenance Service operates within a statutory framework designed for consistency. However, under the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, variations can be considered for:-

• Additional income

• Unearned income

• Assets producing income

In practice, these mechanisms can be complex, evidence-heavy, and difficult to access without support. As a result, many families fall through the gap between policy design and real-world application.

Proposal: Minimum Contribution and Full Disclosure Reform

There is a growing concern that the current system allows significant under-reporting or under-assessment of income among self-employed individuals, sole traders, and company directors.

In some cases, individuals report income close to the personal allowance threshold (currently £12,570 per year), which can result in very low child maintenance assessments.

While this may reflect declared taxable income, it does not always reflect true financial capacity. We are therefore calling for reform that introduces:-

• Mandatory full financial disclosure for self-employed individuals and company directors, including dividends, retained profits, and business income streams

  
  

• Stronger assessment of real financial capacity beyond declared salary alone

  
  

• Consideration of whether declared income reasonably reflects lifestyle and available resources. 

• A minimum maintenance contribution baseline (e.g. £300 per month per household where applicable circumstances are met), unless full disclosure demonstrates genuine inability to pay

This approach would ensure that:-

• Children receive a more consistent level of support

• The system cannot be reduced to artificially low declared incomes alone

• Greater fairness between PAYE and self-employed assessments

• Stronger accountability and transparency in complex financial arrangements

The intention is not to penalise entrepreneurship, but to ensure that child maintenance reflects real-world financial capacity rather than paper-based income alone.

Why This Matters

This is not only a financial issue.

It is a child welfare issue.

According to UK poverty data, children in single-parent households are significantly more likely to experience financial hardship.

When maintenance does not reflect real financial capacity:-

• Children may experience reduced opportunity

• Household inequality increases

• Financial stress becomes long-term

At the same time, unrealistic obligations can place unsustainable pressure on paying parents. Neither outcome serves children.

Hard truth 

Children do not live in spreadsheets.

They live in homes shaped by financial decisions, legal frameworks, and system design.

If the system does not reflect reality, it cannot deliver fairness. And if it cannot deliver fairness, it cannot truly serve the children it was created to protect.

---

Deanna Newell Family Law

Advocacy for truth-tellers, survivors, and the children who deserve better