Petition · past parliament
Child Maintenance Reform for fair financial calculations and assessment
Rejected
11 signatures
What the petition asks
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is there to facilitate adequate financial assistance from one parent to another when there is a disparity in the care of one or more children. But, the calculations are grossly misrepresentative and when there is shared equal care, they still enforce a payment.
Parents who earn less than £50K and claim Child Benefit are deemed by CMS as the primary carer. As primary carer (for which Child Benefit is the only contributing factor), CMS make a calculation based largely on the number of nights the children are with either parent. Even if there is equal shared care, CMS have the power to order contributions from the non-primary carer to the primary carer, despite there being no financial burden on the primary carer. The system is flawed and needs reform.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. You could start a new petition explaining clearly how you'd like the system for calculating child maintenance to be changed.
Timeline
| 21 Feb 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 3 Mar 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
11
Status
Rejected
Rejected
3 Mar 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.