Parents who are on benefitsQ. Do parents who claim benefits get any money from the Statutory Maintenance Servic?
A. We have introduced a measure to ensure parents with care, who receive benefits and have cases on the current child maintenance scheme, receive a 'child maintenance premium'. This is up to £10 per week of any child maintenance paid to us. This is due to increase in October 2008 to £20 per week.
By the end of 2008 we are planning to extend the rules so that all parents with care claiming benefit, including those with old scheme cases, will be able to keep up to £10 per week of their child maintenance where it is paid.
From 2010-2011 we plan to significantly increase the amount of child maintenance that parents with care can keep, before it affects their benefit.
Q. Does the Statutory Maintenance Service keep money paid to parents who are on benefits?
A. Any money over the £10 is paid to the Social Security Agency to make up for the money paid to the person in benefits, it is not kept by Statutory Maintenance Service.
Q. Aren't parents on the old scheme missing out on child maintenance premiums?
A. The DSD Minister has announced that the £10 disregard will be increased to a £20 disregard and extended to all old scheme cases later in 2008, following necessary changes to IT systems and processes.
|
