Payment and collection of child maintenance
- How much child maintenance did the Child Support Agency (CSA) collect in the last year?
- How many children did this go to?
- What is the average monthly amount the CSA collects?
- How much does the CSA collect by taking money direct from parents' earnings?
- How can parents pay their child maintenance?
- Do parents have to go through the CSA?
- What is the most common way of paying?
Q. How much money did the Child Support Agency (CSA) collect in the last year?
A. At the end of June 2009 we collected/arranged just over £1,136m. This is an increase of about £85m on the previous year, when we collected just under £1,051m.
Of the total collections/arrangements, £370m was paid through Maintenance Direct (where we processed an application for child maintenance and the non-resident parent pays direct to the parent with care).
Q. How many children did this go to?
A. 793,900 children as at June 2009.
Q. What is the average monthly amount the CSA collects?
A. £94.7million. This is an increase of around 8% from July 2007 to June 2008 when we collected £87.6 million on average.
Q. How much does the CSA collect by taking money direct from parents' earnings?
A. In the 2007/08 financial year we collected £269m.
Q. How can parents pay their child maintenance?
A. For all cases where child maintenance is arranged through the CSA the parents can either agree that:
- the non-resident parent will pay the parent with care direct, or
- the non-resident parent makes their payments to the CSA.
If parents agree to make their own arrangements they can choose how the non-resident parent will pay the child maintenance. The quickest and easiest way is for the non-resident parent to set up a standing order to pay the child maintenance from their bank, building society or Post Office account direct into the parent with care's account.
If you want to make child maintenance arrangements privately, rather than through the CSA, contact Child Maintenance Options for impartial information and support. Visit their website at www.cmoptions.org or call them on 0800 988 0988 or 0800 988 9888 (textphone).
Or, if the non-resident parent will be paying their regular child maintenance to us they can pay by:
- direct debit (which is a quick and convenient way of making a payment)
- a Deduction From Earnings Order to take the money directly from their pay
If they get benefits, State Pension or a War Pension, we will usually take child maintenance direct from their benefit or pension. If the non-resident parent has a partner and they get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credit, the child maintenance will be taken off before the benefit is paid to their partner. This means that the non-resident parent or their partner will receive a lower amount of benefits.
- Our leaflet "How do I pay child maintenance?" [PDF 205KB]
has more information on this.
Q. Do parents have to go through the CSA?
A. From 27 October 2008, every parent with care has the choice to make their child maintenance arrangements through the CSA or privately.
- Our leaflet
"What is child maintenance and how does it affect me?" [PDF 205KB]
has more information on this.
Q. What is the most common way of paying?
| Method | Percentage of cases |
|---|---|
| Deduction from earnings order/request | 20 |
| Manual payment (e.g. cheque, bank giro credit or Transcash) | 16 |
| Direct to the parent with care | 20 |
| Standing order | 14 |
| Deduction from benefit | 17 |
| Direct debit | 9 |
Related information
- Read our leaflet
"How do I pay child maintenance?" [PDF 251Kb]
- Read our leaflet
"What is child maintenance and how does it affect me?" [PDF 246Kb]
