§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons there is a presumption in benefit regulations that child benefit will normally be paid to a mother. [76296]
§ Angela EagleChild Benefit can be paid to anyone responsible for a child, either because the child lives with them or because they contribute towards the child's maintenance at not less than the weekly rate of Child Benefit. Where two people claim for the same child, priority rules apply as set out in Schedule 10 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.
Briefly, a person with whom a child actually lives has priority over a person who contributes to the child's maintenance; where couples live at the same address a wife has priority over a husband, a mother has priority over a father, and a parent has priority over a non-parent. In other circumstances the two persons can jointly elect which of them shall claim, and in default of such election the Secretary of State may decide.