New CSA rules 2011
I heard that CMEC is one of the quangoes to be quashed by the government, however, the csa will remain but a new system will be introduced in 2011, I found this on a lawyers website to explain it, People most likely to benefit from changes to the Child Support Agency are the self-employed, says a Kent family law solicitor.
The CSA is to be replaced by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission(CMEC).
Susi Gillespie, 33, a solicitor in the family law team at leading regional law firm Furley Page, comments: “The new regime is assessed on gross rather than net income. If you are self-employed you can ‘pay’ yourself in ways that incur less tax and you can also claim tax relief on all kinds of things that wouldn’t be possible under PAYE. In effect, you can generally keep more of your income.
“This doesn’t mean you’re acting illegally. It’s just the inevitable result of a tax system that allows people to claim reliefs because they have to go to the trouble of completing a tax return – and different types of income are taxed at different rates.”
There are three main changes to the CSA, explains Susi.First, percentages applied to the paying party’s income under CMES above £800 a week are lower. The paying party will now pay 12% of gross income up to £800 a week in respect of one child; 16% for two, and 19% for three or more children. (The current CSA rates of 15% for one child; 20% for two, and 25% for three children are applied to the whole of the paying party’s net income below £2,000 a week.) Income above £800 a week gross (the ceiling is £3,000 a week) will be subject to the above percentages for the first £800 with lower percentages of nine per cent for one child; 12% for two, and 15% for three or more children applied to the remainder.
“However,” says Susi, “the potentially unhelpful rule allowing the paying party a reduction of one seventh for every 52 nights a year that the child or children stay over with them is unchanged so the other party still has a financial incentive to restrict this facility.”
(For people already being assessed by the CSA for maintenance, the new rates won’t come into force until 2011.) Second, private agreements will be upheld – even where the receiving party gets benefits and payments in kind such as contributions towards school uniforms, clothes or holidays.But Susi points out that as the existing rule allowing either party to apply for an assessment after an agreement contained in a court order is more than 12 months old continues to apply, it will be impossible to negotiate financial agreements with any certainty that the agreed levels of child support will remain the same.
Third, child maintenance will not affect the receiving party’s benefits claim in any way. This change will be implemented from April 2010.
73 thoughts on “New CSA rules 2011”
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Where exactly did you hear that CMEC will be disbanded?
The new ‘gross earnings’ assessments is not news, its been known for some considerable time.
This will be another failure. I say this because they will probably do the following:
1. All new cases from 2011 will be put on this scheme.
2. All cases currently under CS2 will then be transferred over… that will take another 7 years.
3. ALL cases on CS 1 will remain on this till CS2 has been transferred, hence another 7 year wait.
So in 14 years time when my son is 27, I may expect to get transferred to the new scheme.
Hell I have been waiting 7 years already to get transferred to cs2 . Would save me a load of money. But they wont do that.. Why?… because I am an easy target fot the thieving corrupt malicious parasites in this Agency. I work I pay.. I want to pay for my son.
Rant overwith.
In the meantime we will all be merrily screwed financially.
Have a nice day everyone.
Graeme
So are parents with care gonna be worse off then?
aren't we always!! We are after all the ones left holding the babies and being made out to be heartless cows for so much as hoping for some money off the kids dads. I feel for those that actually rely on this money!
I feel for both sides as I am a PWC and also a NRPP. Three of the biggest mistakes I can see and to which time and time again bring resentment and anger are these:1. Giving NRP's a discount for new children or stepchildren – harbours resentment by PWC and also original children. Why should original children lose out because NRP has new family?2. Taking second family's ctc into account as NRP's income. So unfair but from the other side – this credit is paid for the children in the new family, not for the PWC to cash in. Percentage should be based on NRP's earnings only. After all, this wouldn't change if he was still single.3. The percentage discount if children stay with NRP overnight. For some PWC who struggle financially, of course it will be tempting to stop NRP from having children overnight. This is so blatently abused by SOME PWC to ensure they get maximum money but breaks down relationship between NRP and children and harbours resentment.If these issues were addressed, a lot of the bitching and resentment would disappear.Base percentage on NRP's earnings only. No discounts, no child tax credit. The overnight one is difficult – not sure as to the answer for that one!
Overnight stays, automatically assume it is equal and then make BOTH parents decide whether they want to deviate from it! If the PWC doesn't co-operate then the threat of prison should be there (and enforced), after all if it is for the NRP then it must be good for the PWC!
Perhaps they could turn it into the Shared Parenting Enforcement Commission and become responsible for mediating a fair balance of financial support for the children from BOTH parents and contact with BOTH parents.
Just an elaborate taxation stunt.
Exactly Duncan! There should be a set procedure if you seperate with kids which you should go through. After which, if things still cannot be agreed then it should go to court to sort out.Contact/Custody should be presumed to be shared and the costs of raising the child should be BOTH parents!After which Contact matters should be enforced without delay by the courts and Maintenance matters through a government agency BUT only for what would be classed as DEADBEAT!!! It should be a matter of last recourse!When will the politicians realise that they are playing with the interests of the children, when will the people say enough is enough and stop co-operating with them and actually do something about it!
no doubt this will cause more errors from the csa when this does come in .. wonder if any csa employees on them phones try and still get the old percentages when theyve changed ! …So glad i dont after to deal with them any more and pay my ex directly…
I just worked this out and I will be paying more.
Why do the mothers seem to come out shining and better off.
????????????
Don't misread this. Although the percentages are LOWER, this is LOWER of your GROSS income. This means a HIGHER payment – especially if you are a higher rate tax payer
Lou
Are you sure that you would be worse off under these new assessments?
Hsaving calculated mine all ways that I can think off, I estimate that I would be over £300 per month better off….
Oooooppppssss better not type that otherwise the Little Hitlers will be on to me , cant have that can we…
Graeme
we will also be worse off and thats only because under csa1 they at least take your mortgage/rent into account. I think anyone who has a large monthly mortgage/rent payments will also be worse off.
going of the subject a bit the goverment need to cut back 81 billion pounds over 5 years everyone knows the csa doesnt work it costs 500 miliion to run the csa a year they are so many billion pounds in the red why doesnt the goverment start with the csa closing down ??
There will be slight differences between CS3 and CS3 because the new calculations appear to exclude the tax charge on any benefits in kind, a company car for instance.
This is grossly unfair because if the parents were not separated then the family would have to make do on the net pay, whereas the resident parent suddenly doesn’t when they separate.
The basic minimum will also increase from £5 pw to & 7 pw under CS3.
If all NRPs paid their dues properly, there would be no need to set up such a useless agency like CSA. And our children wouldn't have to suffer.
Is the money going to be taxed before my ex recieves it ?
Sylvia, how can you make such a statement. How can you dare to be so generic about all NRP's ? Its people like you that use the word 'our' when you want money, and 'mine' when you use your children like a possession. Im pretty sure your the type of person that is abusing this system using your children as bait when you want. Perhaps you should question your own motives.
Totally agree with you Sylvia
My problem is i get working family tax credit with my new family and the CSA currently count this as part of the calculation.
Part my wages and part Tax Credit.
The part of the tax credit they take i basically have to replace to pay nursery fee, so i basically loss double on the Tax credits part.
If that is the case Sylvia, why were/are so many NRPs who were ALREADY PAYING MAINTENANCE made to get involved with the agency?The answer? easy targets. The NRPs who have never paid will never pay. The CSA cannot be bothered to work hard enough to find them. It's shameful. Don't ever believe they are there for you..
so the PWC loses out again and a new computer system with the same feckless, stupid, rude, insensitive staff.. wicked – what a great plan..
i have been going over and over the ways in which the csa work our payments out, i am a woman shock horror and yes i am a nrp due to my ex being very devious our daughter now lives with him she is 14 i have tried with solicitors to get her home but was told that it is her choice even though after going to court many years ago we have shared custody i know i was foolish and thought my ex was going to be a decent guy. i hate that people slag us nrp off in my case it isnt that i dont want my daughter or want to see her i do everything to get her to visit and i didnt even know you got a reduction if they did. i know the csa cant be taking my rent into account as they have never asked how much i pay, i am also a student doing a level 2 nvq in beauty but have been told this doesnt class me as being a student ????? i work part time my husband can not work due ti an illness so i get tax credits with the nursery fees included in it now those nursery fees make up the bulk off my tax credits but i am being told it doesnt matter i still get assessed on those too so how can i work and get my children looked after when i have to pay the csa so much i forgot to say i have another 3 children at home and they are all aged 7 and under. i want to pay maintence but i still want to be able to feed my other children what am i ment to do ????
OK does anybody really believe the £539m “EXTRA” spent on the computer system
at the CSA is for collecting money? of course not it is to monitor the Irish factions amongst others…the biggest clue is in part of the name “Agency” no wonder it costs a bomb
I have paid CSA for 8 years (the old system), my child left school in Sept 2009 and did not live with the PWC from that date, this effectively means that the PWC gave up her responsibility and her title as PWC, my liability ended in Oct 2009 as per letter from the CSA.
I moved on with my life free from the CSA. My child went to college in Sept 2010, 1 year after leaving school and the PWC has submitted another claim which the CSA has allowed.
As my child left full time education then I should not be held responsible for her upkeep and certainly not to have 15% of my earnings paid to the PWC.
Does anybody feel it is just or fair for the CSA to reopen a closed case with no regard for the financial comittments of the previously known NRP?
God the CSA are driving me mad AGAIN, they treat the NRP like TRASH.
the people at the cmec/csa, whoever, have no idea about the personality changes of the nrp. First he looses any say with his own children, becomes a slave to the mother. And then like in my case, she buggers off with the children and I still have to pay for the privelege of my family life being taken away, and all the years of fighting her in court just to spend two nights every two weeks with my own children. Now they are constantly chasing me for money I do not even owe, what is the point!!!!
ive been getting csa allowence for my son from my ex for last 11 year and suddenly he hasnt gotta pay anymore cause the new law changes, how can he not pay for his own son cause his claimed living with his partner and her 4 kids as his ……. shouldnt he by law have to pay for his own son until he is 16 no matter of the changes in the law. cause my claim started back in 1999 they say its under the old law and they have closed my claim, any advise please as im not letting him get away with this his nothing but trouble and doesnt even wanna know his own son his not had contact or cares about his own son but think his all hard cause his taken on 3 kids that are not his and has had a baby with his partner last year i think its unfair that his real son has suffer the loss of csa due to him being a arsehole. help me please this is stressing me out
I goy assessed in october 2010 dont know if new or old system had private agreement paying ex £400 per month in place since she left me for someone else in april 2010
Im a director of own company and becasue of ecconmic situation and loss of marriage business was struggling
csa contacted me was worried as heard scare stories and all know people who been robbed by csa in past
i must say as a man they were very very helpful told me dividends are not guarnteed income so not counted
i earn 467 a month salary for tax reason and this all they calculate on so for 2 kids see 1 night aweek overnight i pay just under £29 per month gave her the choice and turns out her freind toldher she get over £500 per month pure greed
I have been paying CSA for two adn a half years now and have no access to my son at all CSA tell me that this is a totally seperate issue and that no matter what teh situation I still have to pay. I’m a father of a son who will be three this year and have seen him twice. Ive paid off all her debt and made sure that she was set and secure in the beguinning and after CSA was set and debts paid she denied me any access what so ever and CSA tell me that all the money I have paid into her debt wont count to my payments, over £20,000. Surely CSA should look at each case more closely with a degree of fairness. This woman has caused me nothing but heart break and financial distress simply by using the completely fluwed system that is the CSA.
Hiya John. I feel totally for you. Back in 1998 I did a similar thing and took on all of the debts from the marriage totaling £47000. I contacted the CSA and was told to produce receipts for everything. Not possible from a thirteen year marriage. So I ended up going through an IVA and also paying the CSA with no reduction. This left me with no money to visit my children at the other end of the country. I truly hope that you eventually get access to see your son. My children are both young adults now and thankfully we are in contact and are starting to build a relationship again, I can only say it takes a while and a lot of frustration i wish you well but you will get no sympathy from the CSA as unfortunately despite being a good NRP you are tarred with the same brush as the scumbags that escape their responsibility
I have no sympathy for the CSA whatsoever…I am currently a NRP and being shafted 40% of my salary. My ex was from another country and we had split up before we found out she was pregnant. Infact it was the day after she got the Visa in the passport she took off. After contacting the Home Office to explain to them she only married me to get the right in the country I was told as she was pregnant she has an automatic right to remain.
Now 14 years on, she does not give me any access whatsoever to see my child and theh court orders are not worth the paper they are on. I have since got on with my life with a 2nd family and the assesments these idiots make are unbelievable. I was out of work for two years and submitted the proof that I was un-employed but they still make me pay backdated payments.
I have no sympathy for all those women who just want to claim benefits, use their childrens as weapons and make life difficult for honest people like myself.
My family have to go without for an immigrant who is not only milking me but milking the system and the CSA do not give a damn. They only care about the cut they make and the last time this was calculated was £80 from a £800 pound a month payment for one child.
Rip off Britian…no wonder many fathers either not pay or simply commit suicide.
Rant Over
I understand the frustration of the fathers who dont see their children, even though they pay child support. However, there is usually a reason why mothers stop contact. If you fathers sorted yourselves out and stopped being crap dads I reckon there would be no need for the CSA.
@ sim.
SIM you know what your doing with that whole dividends thing and you should be completely ashamed of yourself. Paying yourself extremley low salary to give pay such low child support. How do you sleep at night knowing your robbing your own children.
Sirena
My ex is doing a similar thing, he’s self employed & diverting his income so he claimes he earns £100 a week therefore pays £5 a week for our 2 children. They are starting to realise the situation now that they are aged 12 and 11 and have no time or respect for him Whatgoes around comes around and I’m just waiting patiently for the lightening strike to hit him!
been through various departments of c.s.a. since 05
finally at appeal in birmingham
charging order next month in county court
plenty of ammunition nrp but due to data protection/ freedom of information/childrens act the court won.t release information to give to c.s.a
hope to finally put a final nail in the coffin
no equal rights
no rights to family life
no human rights
I’ve been paying the CSA for over 11 years for my now 13 year old daughter. Up to this month I’ve been paying £127 PM for her, but on the new system it’s going up to over £180.
I don’t mind paying me way, although I’ve not seen my daughter for over 6 years due to her mother poisoning my daughter’s mind against me. I’ve spend several years having pay to go through the courts in a futile effort to keep in contact with my daughter.
I’m now married with a wife and 3 beautiful daughters to support. And yes, I do resent paying out money to an abusive mother for a daughter I don’t see for no fault of my own.
Men should pay child matience instead off running as soon as you say im pregnant. I need the help and support off csa as my ex and his family would have strong reglion beliefts and would prefer my child didnt exsist in their eyes. Hurtful but he should be paying no matter what. CSA should be free if not many single parents are not gonna name and shame the little boys that thought leaving a woman in a mess was nothing to them
The government want the men named now that so many women have finally stood up now their wanting charges. Their all for their selfs and no body elses feelings matter
i think it is a discrace,
i have paid my sour ex 130 pounds a month since my daughter was born.
plus given her loads of extra needed things that i have full recipts off.
she has found out i have a new girlfriend and since banned me having contact.
so i have stoped her payments in protest untill she allows me to see my girl.
i have no problem paying her way what so ever but she is just being dam evil.
now im told she will get the csa on me and they will take 15 percent of my wage.
i have a mortgage and bills and the vists to her are 200 miles away an invole a hotel stay.
so how the hell can i afford to live if these rules apply.
what a joke this is to fathers that want to see there children but can because of jelous discrasefull behaviour…
please to god wil csa be scraped!ilfe is tough.ivw worked all my life doing 50 to 60 hrs a week,but now since csa is involved they are just taking to much money off me and have forced me onto jsa,which is not wat i want.but the truth is i am better off now.and i can even work under 16 hrs a week.and pay nearly nothing to my ex.life is easier for me now,but its not what i wanted.please make it worth it for fathers to work……taking half our wages just aint worth it.
i know all you are complaining about the csa but the csa woulnt be on your backs if you agreed to go through your ex, im a single mother of 2 and im on a rubbish wage i begged my ex for help after he left and he refused it takes two people to bring a child into the world so why should it be any different in raising it and financially supporting the child i waited 9 months then informed him i had no choice and its taken 3 years to finally get the support for my children
@ star
I complain about the csa and i did try to make a private agreement with my ex. I offered her the ammount that the current CSA calculator says i should pay which is £60 pw. She refused because our case is on the old system so instead of 15% i have to pay 30% so she gets £100 pw off me. Is it fair for the CSA to run 2 seperate sytems? Is it fair that some one who earns exactly the same as me would only have to pay almost 1/2 of what i am paying just because the broke up after 2003? I do not mind payiing for my daughter but i begrudge the stupid amount that the CSA are taking. I say it should be one rule for all. Maybe if these charges are bought in then my ex will agree to a private agreement instead. I wont hold my breath though as being on CS1 i doubt that i will be transfered over to CS3 before my daughter is 19 in 5 years time.
Terry i am in the same situation as you. There is no way that my ex will agree to take a cut in her child support. Some clown decided on benefit disregard from april 2010 so me ex gets all her benefits, rent council tax plus £469 amonth csa payments, no wonder she dosn’t want to get a job!! I have been stuck on csa1 for the past 11 yrs and was told in 2006 that i would be going onto csa2 but it never happened, I think that NRP’s like me and you keep the collection figures up and people in a job as csa1 takes so long to work out!! If you read gingerbread site and the green paper on the reforms they state that the average weekly payment is £34 aweek!!! so anyone who has never delt with the csa will think that its true!!. The new gross income scheme is supposed to start in 2001?? lol the csa sent me an email that once it starts everyone on both schemes will be invited to join!! when i phoned them how i got a invite they refused to tell me> you and everyone else should email them about the new scheme and then goto there M.P. about an invite!!
Done that. lol.
All i get off them at the moment is “We havnt been given all the details yet so we cant tell you what we don’t know”
At first they were going to transfer everyone from CS1 to CS2 but because the government didnt say that they have to do it they decided not to. What i can see happening now is the government once again forget to say that they are to put everyone on the same scheme so they just decide not to bother again.
Or the other thing i have heard from different sites is that they will transfer all CS2 cases first which could take upto 5 years then start transfering all CS1 cases. My daughter turns 19 in 5 years so by the time CS1 cases are transfered i shall be out of the system anyway unless they decide to invent some arears to make me pay.
hi, can anyone help me? my daughters x has told her that she can’t get csa because she isn’t working. his mother has told him that the only way she can get any money out of him is when she gets a job. my daughter is on benefits and doesn’t have a lot of money at all, so myself and my husband are trying to keep her head above water. i have had to sit and watch my daughter cry herself to sleep because she doesn’t know how she is going to pay the bills and that little shit is sat in the pub laughing at her. it takes 2 to bring a baby into the world. i feel so sorry for the mums and dads that do pay and want to see there babies, and carnt or are not allowed for some silly reason . then theres the so called men who think its funny just seeing how many women they can get pregnant. my daughter has asked him to be in my grandsons life and he can’t be bothered he would rather be sat in a pub, than buy his son some shoes as my lovely grandson has just started walking. at the end of the day he is the one losing out on this special time. its not that she wants a lot of money she would just love it if he offered to pay for some shoes or clothes for him, as we all know how much it costs just to buy a decent pair of shoes. at the end of the day its not my grandsons fault. he never asked for any of this. all my daughter wants is for him to be part of his sons life, she doesn’t want him back, she just wants a dad for her son. thats not to much to ask. is it?
Have been re-assessed this year after paying for 16 years,have got data reference my case from CSA,I am on CS2 from 2006,but Belfast says I am on the old system,I am paying £424 for 1 child has anyone had this experience ?I think they are all mad.
aidy
i would have to tell them,say that to me in writing!pwc have to pay 100 pounds soon to start geting money off us,and they just aint got the money,so…that forces a lot of pwc to start talking with us to get money,and at least theres one good thing,we get to see our kids,i havent seen my boy in months.cant wait for this to come into force.
Well I work in CMED and I can tell you that i don’t care about all your bitching! You NRP’s should just pay your maintence and just shut up. You PWC’s should also stop bitching because if you can’t sort out your own lives out and can’t get enough money to look after your children then maybe you should give custudy of your kids to the children’s fathers or have shared custudy so the father can have equal responsibility, so stop being so selfish and think you are the victim when deny the father his right to look after the children!!!
At the end of the day all of you are responsible for the mess your in because if you can’t sort out your own lives then don’t expect others to do it for you. Even then if CMED doesn’t get it right? So what! You can’t expect other people to sort out your mess and expect them to make things out to be exactly how you want it to be, if you do expect this then get your finger out and sort it out yourself!!
Im responding to some posts on here destroying the fathers regarding payment. One even says that the mother would only stop contact for a reason!
I left my wife 6 years ago and gave her everything, car, house and furniture. I left with my clothes. I wanted as little disruption as possible to my kids. I even took on the £13k of debt.
I immediately began paying her £500 a month in cash as she didn’t want the CSS involved. Being a clever bloke made her sign a receipt book.
6 months in I received a letter from the csa saying my ex had applied for maintenance and I should pay £432 a month. Fine. They also claimed 6 months arrears as my ex informed them I had paid nothing. A bit of photocopying and posting of the receipt book and that was it. So the first point being that my ex is a lying, greedy cow!
For the first year she lived local and I saw my kids every weekend and spoke to them every night on the phone. She then decided to move 200 miles away so I could only see them every 2 weeks. I asked if she would help with the driving, only 50 miles of it but it would save me 2 hours on a round trip and would mean my kids would get to bed at a decent time on a Friday evening (due to starting my journey after work, not money)
She refused, obviously.
Many times I travelled to collect my children only to be refused access on the door. I have had her arrested for assault 3 times due to her demanding more money when
I arrive and she gets aggressive when I refuse.
She has tried to get me arrested for abusive behaviour (kicking the door and shouting and swearing) and that’s why she refuses access. Again being a switched on cookie I ask one of her neighbours to witness my collection each time. This neighbour completely refutes her story to the police each time.
I had to work in Germany for 6 months and travelled back on my own expense every 3rd weekend, including the 200 mile drive from the airport, to collect my kids and would often be refused to see them ( even though she had agreed prior to getting on the plane)
I have had constant dramas with her using the kids as a weapon, refusing to let me talk to them on the phone.
At my divorce I learned that she was receiving £1800 of benefits, including csa, of that she only pays out a rent contribution of £180. Her disposable income is astounding!! I work full time, been in the same job for 17 years now, took on the marital debt and she is minted!!
I asked the csa