The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) does not take into account a person\u2019s \u201clifestyle\u201d in calculating a maintenance liability.<\/p>
<\/p>
The CMS has access to income information held by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), allowing us to capture a much wider range of income types received by Paying Parents. The definition of income within the 2012 scheme includes almost all additional sources of gross income captured by self-assessment. We refer to this as \u201cunearned income\u201d and it includes incomes from property, savings and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous incomes.<\/p>
<\/p>
This provides a more effective route to taking these kinds of income into account than the \u201clifestyle\u201d ground which existed for the previous schemes of maintenance.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-20T10:36:32.38Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service takes account of a person's lifestyle as well as income in determining liabilities for paying maintenance.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4404", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Tania Mathias"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Twickenham"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Tania Mathias"} ], "uin" : "60320"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/674378", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/674378/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Enforcement charges are intended to encourage parents to comply with their commitments, as well as to help off-set the administrative cost of taking enforcement action. The enforcement charges are lower than the actual cost to the Department for taking the action. To charge the full cost could have an adverse effect and encourage non-compliance, as well as being potentially disproportionate to the size of the debt. The levels are designed to be proportionate to the type, and seriousness, of the order that is being pursued.<\/p>
<\/p>
Enforcement charges are only collected once the ongoing maintenance and any arrears due have, been paid.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-20T10:42:56.617Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria were used to determine the Child Maintenance Service's enforcement charges, including liability orders, lump sum reduction orders, regular deduction orders and deduction from earnings orders and requests.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4440", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Marion Fellows"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Motherwell and Wishaw"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Marion Fellows"} ], "uin" : "60231"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/673630", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/673630/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We currently have a range of strong collection and enforcement powers to pursue Child Maintenance arrears. Our main focus is to collect money owed to children who will benefit today. We are currently reviewing our approach to arrears built up under the 1993 and 2003 schemes and expect to publish our new arrears strategy later this year.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-20T10:48:02.733Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to collect the almost £4 billion of child maintenance arrears debt currently owed.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/304", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birmingham, Hall Green"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Roger Godsiff"} ], "uin" : "60144"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671652", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "HM Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671652/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC\u2019s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3918", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jane Ellison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Battersea"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jane Ellison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "59665"} , {"_value" : "59666"} , {"_value" : "59667"} , {"_value" : "59668"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-18T14:26:03.903Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "CaTreasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in how many cases parents with care have alerted HM Revenue and Customs to potential tax fraud by the non-resident parent in each of the last three financial years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eddisbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Antoinette Sandbach"} ], "uin" : "59664"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671654", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "HM Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671654/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC\u2019s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3918", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jane Ellison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Battersea"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jane Ellison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "59664"} , {"_value" : "59666"} , {"_value" : "59667"} , {"_value" : "59668"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-18T14:26:03.967Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "CaTreasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions have been instigated in each of the last three years by HM Revenue and Customs in respect of false tax returns by non-resident parents where the false return has reduced that parent's liability for child maintenance.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eddisbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Antoinette Sandbach"} ], "uin" : "59665"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671655", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "HM Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671655/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC\u2019s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3918", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jane Ellison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Battersea"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jane Ellison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "59664"} , {"_value" : "59665"} , {"_value" : "59667"} , {"_value" : "59668"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-18T14:26:04.013Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "CaTreasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations have been instigated by HM Revenue and Customs as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities in each of the last three financial years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eddisbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Antoinette Sandbach"} ], "uin" : "59666"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671656", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "HM Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671656/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC\u2019s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3918", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jane Ellison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Battersea"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jane Ellison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "59664"} , {"_value" : "59665"} , {"_value" : "59666"} , {"_value" : "59668"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-18T14:26:04.06Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "CaTreasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of HM Revenue and Customs work on dealing with allegations of false tax returns by non-resident parents seeking to avoid child maintenance liabilities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eddisbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Antoinette Sandbach"} ], "uin" : "59667"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671657", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "HM Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/671657/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC\u2019s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.<\/p>
<\/p>
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3918", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jane Ellison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Battersea"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jane Ellison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-01-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "59664"} , {"_value" : "59665"} , {"_value" : "59666"} , {"_value" : "59667"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-01-18T14:26:04.137Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "CaTreasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Maintenance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many joint training events have taken place in each of the last three years between staff from the Child Maintenance Service, the Department of Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs in order to ensure understanding of circumstances relating to potential avoidance of maintenance payments to single parent families.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4506", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Eddisbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Antoinette Sandbach"} ], "uin" : "59668"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/659664", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/659664/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "