Changes to Child Maintenance Regulations

CHANGES TO CHILD MAINTENANCE REGULATIONS

 

“New Child Maintenance Regulations come into force on 30^th June 2013, meaning parents making application for Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will have to pay application fees, ongoing administration fees to the CMS and Government administration fees on top….   

 

To discuss these recent changes, and the impact they may have upon you as a parent contact Hardip Lall-Jones on hardiplall-jones@hhb-mo.co.uk or Katie Ward on katieward@hhb-mo.co.uk or 0121 449 5050.

 

Follow the link to www.resolution.org.uk who have produced the following Article:-

 

Child Maintenance application fees introduced today The Minister for Pensions, Steve Webb MP, has announced the introduction of charges for people applying to the Child Maintenance Service from today.  Information on the implementation of other changes, including the introduction of collection charges, is also now available. In brief All new applicants to the Child Maintenance Service from 30 June 2014 will be charged a one-off application fee of £20.     This application fee will not apply to clients who are a victim of domestic violence and have reported this to an appropriate person or organisation, including a solicitor are residents of Northern Ireland or are aged under 19. From 11 August 2014 collection charges will be charged to both parents in relation to all cases in the Child Maintenance Service Collect and Pay system on or after that date.  The charges will be 4% deducted from the child maintenance payments received the parent with care and 20% added on to the child maintenance liability for the non-resident parent. Resolution has been informed by the DWP that the Child Maintenance Service is writing to all CMS clients (around 120,000 cases) advising them of the introduction of collection charges from 11 August 2014 and flagging up the free Direct Pay option and how to apply for this (or, in the case of parents with care, how to express an option to stick with Collect and Pay if they still want this).  You can find examples of the letters being sent to clients on the DWP website Existing clients already within the Collect and Pay system have ‘a choice’ or ‘a cooling off period’ to allow them to avoid paying collection charges from 11 August 2014. They can decide whether to continue using the Collect and Pay system and be charged, or to avoid the collection fee by either working out arrangements between themselves or using the free Direct Pay system.  CMS Non-resident parents with arrears (but no enforcement action as yet) will be given until 5 August 2014 to clear their arrears.  If they do so, they will be able to opt for a Direct Pay arrangement. Enforcement charges against paying parents will apply within the Child Maintenance Service taken on or after 30 June 2014, where the Child Maintenance Service has to take enforcement action against non-payers in the Collect and Pay system.  These charges will not apply to existing enforcement action taken prior to 30 June 2014. We will be monitoring the impact of the charges and will keep you informed of any developments. Ending CSA arrangements First contact to ‘nil assessed’ clients also begins today 30 June – all clients will be notified by letter, they won’t be receiving a phone call or email. We will be providing further information on CSA case closure arrangements. Useful links The DWP has created an online Child Maintenance System toolkit The relevant commencement orders are available Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No. 14 and Transitional Provisions) and the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 18 and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2014

Statement from the Department of Work and Pensions: Fees and charges for the Child Maintenance Service Fees and charges are being introduced from today (30 June 2014) for use of the Child Maintenance Service. A letter is being issued to all Child Maintenance Service clients giving them 6 weeks’ notice that they will be charged if the Child Maintenance Service collects and pays out child maintenance on their behalf. We have already written to a selection of Child Maintenance Service clients to encourage them to consider making a family-based arrangement or Direct Pay arrangement so they can avoid paying fees. From 30 June, an application to the Child Maintenance Service will cost £20 for most applicants when the application is processed and a child maintenance calculation is performed. For parents who apply to the Child Maintenance Service and can arrange payment directly between themselves there are no further fees to pay. This is called “Direct Pay”. This service offers the reassurance to clients of knowing that if payments aren’t made the Child Maintenance Service can step in and make sure any missed payments are collected. Parents who can’t use Direct Pay can use the Collect and Pay service, where the Child Maintenance Service will collect child maintenance from the paying parent and give it to the receiving parent. The fees for this service will be 20% for paying parents and 4% for receiving parents. Ending Child Support Agency (CSA) child maintenance arrangements From today, we have also has started sending letters to CSA clients about ending their current child maintenance arrangements. All affected parents will be contacted between now and 2017 to give them notice that their arrangement will end. Most clients will get 6 months’ notice and will be offered support from Child Maintenance Options to put a new arrangement in place. When their CSA arrangements end, parents have the option to: Make a family-based arrangement – where they arrange between themselves what to pay and when. Make an application to the Child Maintenance Service. As long as clients’ cases are managed by the CSA they will not be charged for using the service. Find out more about child maintenance arrangements at www.cmoptions.org

 

Maslen Merchant features on BBC Radio 4 File on 4

Maslen was interviewed for a programme originally broadcast on 20th May which examines the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

He is a member of the Criminal Appeal Lawyers’ Association and has regular conduct of matters in the Court of Appeal, representing clients who are convicted of a wide range of offences including murder, robbery and serious sexual offences.

The firm regularly receives recommendations and referrals from a number of campaigning organisations as well as journalists, other firms of solicitors, experts, counsel and existing clients.

We submit a large number of applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission each year, highlighting a vast number of issues including police corruption, non-disclosure, fresh evidence, new expert opinion and incompetent defence work by the trial lawyers. 

 

To contact the criminal department at Hadgkiss Hughes & Beale email enquiries@hhb-mo.co.uk or telephone 0121 449 5050

To listen to the programme click here