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@bill337 Thanks for the above. My son will join the Facebook group. Dealing with the CMS is like entering a black hole. Information on the DWPs own website ' Guidance: How your child's living arrangements affect child maintenance' which makes clear in cases of equal care there that the paying parent does not have to pay any child maintenance. In submitting his request for a mandatory review, my son thought that quoting the DWP guidance would be sufficient. How wrong he was. As his review was denied on the grounds that CMS use receipt of child benefit to determine primary carer role, we did some digging and found the CMS bases decisions on financial liability on who receives child benefit 'Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012'
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2677/regulation/50
(3) Where the applicant is receiving child benefit in respect of the qualifying child the applicant is assumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be providing day to day care to a greater extent than any other person.
This applies to cases of equal care. So it is incumbent upon the non receiving parent (paying parent) to provide concrete proof to challenge the above assumption. To my mind, the CMS is therefore biased in favour of the parent with care - invariably the mother. Could the fact that 70% of staff at CMS are female be at all relevant?
My son will now go down the tribunal route and challenge the CMS's decision. Will post here on the outcome of that process which can take up to six months.
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