§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance his Department issues to the Child Support Agency on the eligible expenses that self-employed fathers can offset against their income when an assessment is made.
§ Mr. BurtThe relevant guidance by the chief child support officer is contained in part 4 of the Child Support Adjudication Guide, a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy not to include the income of the wife when the Child Support Agency assesses the contribution her husband must take towards maintaining the children of a previous marriage.
§ Mr. BurtAssessment of child support maintenance is based on a parent's own income and essential expenditure. Details of a wife's income are needed for two aspects of the assessment, as follows
(i.) to assess whether the wife can contribute towards the support of any child of the couple themselves; and(ii.) to assess whether maintenance payable by the husband for the children of the previous marriage should be reduced below the assessed level to avoid his second family's resources falling below a prescrived level.We have no plans to change this.