HL Deb 18 March 1997 vol 579 c60WA
Earl Russell

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether money made available to a student facing financial hardship, and taken from access funds administered by the student's college, is exempt from assessment by the Child Support Agency for purposes of child maintenance.

The Minister of State, Department of Social Security (Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish)

One-off payments from access funds are ignored in the assessment of child support maintenance. Regular payments would be taken into account, but absent parents who are students are generally assessed to pay only small amounts of maintenance or nothing at all.