Category: Child Support

Chandler v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another: CA 29 Nov 2007

The father ran a business. He made a loan to his company, which was being repaid by regular instalments, not including interest. He appealed a decision that the loan repayments were to be treated as income for child support purposes.
Held: The payments were not to be treated as income. No strain of the words of the statute was required to bring such recipts into income because of the existence of adequate anti-avoidance provisions.

Citations:

Times 07-Jan-2008, [2007] EWCA Civ 1211

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 12 July 2022; Ref: scu.261608

S v S: FD 8 Dec 1992

A notice of motion to a judge in the Family Division was the correct procedure for challenging a refusal by magistrates either to remit arrears of periodical payments for children, or to vary the existing order. An appeal to the county court was not the correct thing to do.

Citations:

Times 08-Dec-1992

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 94

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.88952

V v V (Ancillary relief: Power to order child maintenance): FD 6 Jun 2001

The parties had sought a child maintenance order form the court, but the husband resiled from his agreement.
Held: Where the court was unexpectedly blocked in this way, it had a power to make an order for payment by way of a lump sum of the difference to the wife for the benefit of the children. The court could not make a periodical payments order because no Segal order was available, nor was there any jurisdiction under the Act, since there was neither a subsisting order nor written agreement for variation. This was not an attempt to remedy perceived deficiencies in the Act, and the court had to look to its obligation to consider the children’s welfare. The provisions may be used for maintenance purposes if the child support machinery has not been invoked. Parents can, in effect, avoid the intervention of the Child Support Agency by agreeing a nominal sum in periodical payments at the outset and then returning to court for it to be varied.

Judges:

Wilson J

Citations:

Times 16-Aug-2001, [2001] 2 FLR 799

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991, Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 23(1)(f) 25(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Segal 1993
. .

Cited by:

Cited – Kehoe, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions HL 14-Jul-2005
The applicant contended that the 1991 Act infringed her human rights in denying her access to court to obtain maintenance for her children.
Held: The applicant had no substantive right to take part in the enforcement process in domestic law . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Family

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.159485

Morgan v Hill: CA 28 Nov 2006

The father appealed an award of periodical payments to a former partner. She had a child by an earlier relationship. The father was immensely rich and during the relationship made financial provision for the child by the earlier relationship also. The order now appealed continued that. The father said that the court had wrongly interfered with an earlier agreement between the parties for provision.
Held: It was in practice difficult to separate out elements of the benefits of the orders made to differentiate between the two children, but the court could not override the principle which was that he was not responsible to maintain the first child, and the court could not make an order for her benefit. Order adjusted accordingly.

Judges:

Lord Justice Thorpe, Lord Justice Keene and Lord Justice Hughes

Citations:

[2006] EWCA Civ 1602, Times 08-Dec-2006, [2007] 1 WLR 855, [2007] 1 FLR 1480

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 15

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Edgar v Edgar CA 23-Jul-1980
H and W separated and in 1976, without any pressure H and at the instigation of W, signed a deed of separation negotiated through solicitors. H agreed to purchase a house for W, to confer on her capital benefits worth approximately andpound;100,000, . .
Cited – Camm v Camm CA 1982
Ancillary relief was claimed in the face of the terms of a separation agreement.
Held: If asked to look at an ancillary relief settlement agreed between the parties, the court could do so where the original provision was inadequate. Here, the . .
Cited – In re P (Child: Financial Provision) CA 24-Jun-2003
The court considered the amount of an allowance to be provided to a parent which would, on divorce, take care of a child of the family in a moderate to high income case.
Held: The carer would not themselves be entitled to an allowance . .
Cited – J v C (Child’s Financial Provision) 1999
The court explained the absence from the check list in the section of any mention of the welfare of a child of the family. . .
Cited – A v A (a minor; financial provision) 1994
. .

Cited by:

Cited – Radmacher v Granatino CA 2-Jul-2009
Husband and wife, neither English, had married in England. Beforehand they had signed a prenuptial agreement in Germany agreeing that neither should claim against the other on divorce. The wife appealed against an order to pay a lump sum to the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Family

Updated: 08 July 2022; Ref: scu.246703

Phillips v Peace: 1996

The assessment of an absent parent’s liability under the Act is a mechanical one, achieved by the application of a formula. That assessment of liability does not reflect a number of potentially relevant factors, such as the availability to the absent parent of substantial capital.

Citations:

[1996] 2 FCR 237

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Kehoe CA 5-Mar-2004
The claimant had applied to the Child Support Agncy for maintenance. They failed utterly to obtain payment, and she complained now that she was denied the opportunity by the 1991 Act to take court proceedings herself.
Held: The denial of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 03 July 2022; Ref: scu.194404

Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another: CA 25 Jan 2005

The Respondent had sought a liability order against the appellant, the non-resident parent in respect of child support maintenance arrears. The appellant had asked the magistrates to consider whether he was liable to pay child support maintenance, but they had declined.
Held: The section prevented the magistrates enquiring as to the amount of arrears, but not as to whether child support maintenance was payable at all. If not they might be making an order for a person’s comittal to prison without that person having a proper and convenient way of challenging the assertion that he was liable. In hearing an application for a liability order, the magistrates exercised an adjudicative function requiring evidence of liability in the absence of an admission. The liability order was quashed, and the case remitted.

Judges:

Lord Woolf LCJ, Lord Phillips of Wothr Matravers MR, Lord Slynn of Hadley.

Citations:

Times 27-Jan-2005, [2005] EWCA Civ 778

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 33

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Admn 12-Jul-2004
The defendant and his wife were separated. The Child Support Agency assessed the contributions he was to make, and eventually pursued him in the magistrates court for arrears. The defendant argued that whilst the Act did prevent the magistrates . .

Cited by:

Cited – Farley v Child Support Agency and Another; Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (No. 2) HL 28-Jun-2006
Magistrates were wrong to think they had a discretion to look at the validity of a liability assessment under child support legislation. The Act gave the payer alternative avenues of appeal, and therefore the Act should be read as it stated and the . .
See Also – Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (No 2) CA 22-Jun-2005
The Court of Apeal had previously considered an appeal from the grant of a liability order made by magistrates. It had become clear that the order had been made without jurisdiction.
Held: The order must be set aside. The court had no . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Magistrates

Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228911

Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (No 2): CA 22 Jun 2005

The Court of Apeal had previously considered an appeal from the grant of a liability order made by magistrates. It had become clear that the order had been made without jurisdiction.
Held: The order must be set aside. The court had no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the High Court hearing an appeal by way of case stated. Nevertheless, the issue had been an appropriate issue for the court. The appellant could apply for judicial review, the CA could sit as a court of first instance and reject that request, then the appellant could then appeal that and the Court of Appeal could then re-instate the order. Accepting limited undertakings for the lodging of documents, the court so acted.

Judges:

Lord Woolf LCJ, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers MR

Citations:

Times 30-Jun-2005, [2005] EWCA Civ 869

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Applied – Westminster City Council v O’Reilly and others CA 1-Jul-2003
The defendant sought to appeal against a decision of the High Court on a case stated by the Magistrates.
Held: A decision by the High Court on an appeal by way of case stated from the Magistrates was final, and no further appeal lay to the . .
See Also – Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another CA 25-Jan-2005
The Respondent had sought a liability order against the appellant, the non-resident parent in respect of child support maintenance arrears. The appellant had asked the magistrates to consider whether he was liable to pay child support maintenance, . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Farley v Child Support Agency and Another; Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (No. 2) HL 28-Jun-2006
Magistrates were wrong to think they had a discretion to look at the validity of a liability assessment under child support legislation. The Act gave the payer alternative avenues of appeal, and therefore the Act should be read as it stated and the . .
Cited – Kenya Aid Programme v Sheffield City Council Admn 22-Jan-2013
The claimant challenged a decision that it was liable for non domestic rates in respect of some commercial units, on the basis that the use by the charity was not itself charitable.
Held: ‘there is no reason for limiting the ambit of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Child Support, Judicial Review

Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228268

Pabari v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions-And-Nilesh Pabari: CA 10 Nov 2004

Housing Costs as part of child support assessment. The court considered the interpretation of the word ‘necessary’, saying that the Court must not qualify the word ‘necessary’ by reference to what might be regarded as reasonable. The word ‘necessary’ instead requires a high degree of exigency.

Judges:

Lord Justice Brooke Holman Mr Justice Holman Lord Justice Dyson The Vice President Of The Court Of Appeal (Civil Division)

Citations:

[2004] EWCA Civ 1480, [2005] 1 All ER 287

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Handyside v The United Kingdom ECHR 7-Dec-1976
Freedom of Expression is Fundamental to Society
The appellant had published a ‘Little Red Schoolbook’. He was convicted under the 1959 and 1964 Acts on the basis that the book was obscene, it tending to deprave and corrupt its target audience, children. The book claimed that it was intended to . .

Cited by:

Cited – Perrin and Another v Northampton Borough Council and others CA 19-Dec-2007
The land owners had sought permission to fell an oak tree subject to a tree preservation order in order to prevent further damage from its roots.
Held: The council’s appeal succeeded. The court was asked to decide whether any works to the tree . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 27 June 2022; Ref: scu.219336

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M: CA 15 Oct 2004

M had challenged the Child Support Regulations saying that they discriminated against her. She was the liable parent, and in a monogomoud lesbian relationship. As such she said that she was treated worse than she would have been since the Regulations did not that her relationship as constituting a family. The Secretary of State appealed against the finding that the regulations were discriminatory. The second claimant had challenged a similar result in her claim for Housing Benefits.
Held: The court upheld the Commissioner’s decision.
Lord Justice Sedley considered that the applicant’s previous family life (i.e. the relationship between herself, her former husband and her children) was not within the ambit of Article 8. As for her relationship with her partner, he read the ECHR decision in Estevez to establish that the question whether same-sex relationships fall within Article 8 is a matter of domestic law. Several domestic precedents treated same-sex couples as no different from heterosexual couples in certain contexts, and the applicant’s relationship constituted family life for the purposes of the case. Any discrimination against the applicant on the grounds of her sexual orientation called for compelling and proportionate justification. The child support scheme impinged in some significant degree on the family life of the applicant and her partner, bringing their situation within the ambit of Article 8. As the scheme discriminated against the applicant on grounds of her sexual orientation, Article 14 was also engaged. He rejected the argument that the scheme came within the ambit of the applicant’s private life, since the scheme did not set out to recognise the applicant’s sexual orientation. Regarding Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, he considered it unnecessary to decide if it too was engaged, although he doubted that it was. He found that the Government had not provided any acceptable justification for the discrimination against the applicant. He rejected the arguments advanced on behalf of the Secretary of State about the difficulty of correcting a problem that was but one instance of a distinction applied throughout the wider social security system, observing that there was no doctrine of justification by the logistics of reform. As for a remedy, he considered that the appropriate course was to disapply (in effect delete) the definition in the regulations of an unmarried couple so as to eliminate the requirement of heterosexuality.

Judges:

Kennedy, Sedley, Neuberger LJJ

Citations:

[2004] EWCA Civ 1343, [2005] 2 WLR 740, [2006] QB 380

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991, Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 1(2), Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987, European Convention on Human Rights 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – (Un-named) SSCS 1-Oct-2003
The mother had challenged payments required of her by way of child support. The Secretary of State now appealed.
Held: The appeal was rejected: ‘a gay relationship can be a family for the purpose of [A]rticle 8’. There was no reason, in the . .
Cited – Mata Estevez v Spain ECHR 10-May-2001
The claimant complained that the state did not give proper recognition of his relationship with his deceased same sex partner.
Held: The court noted the growing tendency in a number of European states towards the legal and judicial recognition . .

Cited by:

At CA – JM v United Kingdom ECHR 21-Nov-2008
. .
At CA – JM v United Kingdom ECHR 28-Sep-2010
The applicant alleged that she had been the victim of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the assessment by the authorities of her financial liability under the regulations on child support. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Discrimination, Benefits

Updated: 23 June 2022; Ref: scu.216576

Smith v Smith and Another: CA 19 Oct 2004

The father challenged a ruling that in calculating his liability to pay child support he was not entitled first to deduct, as a self-employed person, all the allowances he might claim against income tax by way of capital allowances.
Held: The legislation is sloppy, muddled and would lead to unjust and absurd results. Nevertheless the regulations were as contended by the father.

Judges:

Ward LJ, Ward LJ, Sir Martin Nourse

Citations:

[2004] EWCA Civ 1318, Times 02-Nov-2004

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992, Child Support Act 1991, Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1999 , Capital Allowances Act 1990 140 247, Taxes Management Act 1970 8

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Cooke v Secretary of State for Social Security CA 25-Apr-2001
Although production of a new medical report, or of a new medical opinion, could evidence a relevant change of circumstances, to support the claim that the threshold had been reached so as to allow a review of a decision to grant benefits, it did not . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 23 June 2022; Ref: scu.216540

Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Admn 12 Jul 2004

The defendant and his wife were separated. The Child Support Agency assessed the contributions he was to make, and eventually pursued him in the magistrates court for arrears. The defendant argued that whilst the Act did prevent the magistrates looking at the amounts set to be payable, it was able to look at the fundamental issue of liability.
Held: The wording had been changed to refer to ‘maintenance calculation’ save in the subsection. This suggested that the words ‘maintenance assessment’ here referred to the question of liability at all as well as its calculation. The appeal failed.

Judges:

Keith J

Citations:

[2004] EWHC 1655 (Admin), Times 23-Jul-2004

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 31 33(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another CA 25-Jan-2005
The Respondent had sought a liability order against the appellant, the non-resident parent in respect of child support maintenance arrears. The appellant had asked the magistrates to consider whether he was liable to pay child support maintenance, . .
At First Instance – Farley v Child Support Agency and Another; Farley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (No. 2) HL 28-Jun-2006
Magistrates were wrong to think they had a discretion to look at the validity of a liability assessment under child support legislation. The Act gave the payer alternative avenues of appeal, and therefore the Act should be read as it stated and the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.198864

R(CS) 6/03: SSCS 5 Nov 2002

Maintenance assessment – whether ‘parent with care’ includes step-parent
Human rights – application of Human Rights Act 1998 where Secretary of State’s decision before October 2000 and tribunal hearing afterwards

Citations:

[2002] UKSSCSC CCS – 1306 – 2001

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v Kansal (2) HL 29-Nov-2001
The prosecutor had lead and relied at trial on evidence obtained by compulsory questioning under the 1986 Act.
Held: In doing so the prosecutor was acting to give effect to section 433.
The decision in Lambert to disallow retrospective . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.197630

(Un-named): SSCS 19 Feb 1997

Housing costs – interest payments on second mortgage taken out by absent parent to buy parent with care’s share in joint home – whether payments made in respect of the ‘provision of a home’

Citations:

[1997] UKSSCSC CCS – 11591 – 1995

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.197457

(Un-named) (CSA): SSCS 17 Mar 1997

Maintenance assessment – effective date – whether maintenance enquiry form sent to the absent parent when properly addressed, pre-paid and posted
Natural justice – whether the withholding of relevant evidence from an appeal tribunal by a child support officer renders the decision of the tribunal erroneous in law

Citations:

[1997] UKSSCSC CCS – 12682 – 1996

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 4, Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992 30(2)(a)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support, Natural Justice

Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.197458

(Un-named): SSCS 1 Oct 2003

The mother had challenged payments required of her by way of child support. The Secretary of State now appealed.
Held: The appeal was rejected: ‘a gay relationship can be a family for the purpose of [A]rticle 8’. There was no reason, in the context of child support legislation, to distinguish between families according to the sexual orientation of the partners. The purpose of the regulations was to determine the financial obligation of the absent parent, a matter on which his or her sexual orientation should have no bearing. Accordingly, the applicant’s situation was within the ambit of the right to respect for family life. The court rejected, however, the applicant’s argument that the situation also came within the ambit of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. As to Article 14, the Commissioner found that, in the context of child support payments, the applicant’s situation was analogous to that of an absent parent living with a heterosexual partner, who, all other things being equal, would have been required to pay around GBP 14 per week instead of almost GBP 47. The Government had not advanced any justification for treating the applicant differently and therefore the child support scheme violated the applicant’s Convention right under Article 14 read in conjunction with Article 8. Concerning the remedy, the Commissioner disagreed with the approach of the Appeals Tribunal. Instead, since the regulations defined the various terms used by the regulations ‘unless the context otherwise requires’, he considered that, with the entry into force of the Human Rights Act on 2 October 2000, the ‘context’ now included the absent parent’s Convention rights. Therefore, the definition of an unmarried couple (‘a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife’) did not apply in this situation.

Citations:

[2003] UKSSCSC CCS – 1153 – 2003

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights, Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 1(2)

Cited by:

Appeal from – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M CA 15-Oct-2004
M had challenged the Child Support Regulations saying that they discriminated against her. She was the liable parent, and in a monogomoud lesbian relationship. As such she said that she was treated worse than she would have been since the . .
At Commissioner – JM v United Kingdom ECHR 21-Nov-2008
. .
At Commissioner – JM v United Kingdom ECHR 28-Sep-2010
The applicant alleged that she had been the victim of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the assessment by the authorities of her financial liability under the regulations on child support. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Discrimination, Child Support

Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.197368

Huxley v Child Support Agency: CA 2000

The court gave an extensive analysis of the workings of the Child Support Act: (Lady Justice Hale) ‘It is important to bear in mind that the child support scheme is not simply a method for the State to recoup part of its benefit expenditure from the absent parents. It is a replacement both for the former method of doing this and for the court’s powers to make orders between individuals for periodical payments for the maintenance of children. . . . The child support system has elements of private and public law but fundamentally it is a nationalised system for assessing and enforcing an obligation which each parent owes primarily to the child. It replaces the powers of the courts, which can no longer make orders for periodical payments for children save in very limited circumstances. Unless she can secure a voluntary agreement at least as high as that which the CSA would assess, the PWC is expected to look to the Agency to assess her child support according to the formula, whether or not she is on benefit. The fact that it does her no direct good if she is on means-tested benefits, and that much CSA activity so far has been in relation to parents on benefit, does not alter the fundamental characteristics of the scheme.’

Judges:

Lady Justice Hale, Auld and Pill LJJ

Citations:

[2000] 1 FLR 989

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Kehoe CA 5-Mar-2004
The claimant had applied to the Child Support Agncy for maintenance. They failed utterly to obtain payment, and she complained now that she was denied the opportunity by the 1991 Act to take court proceedings herself.
Held: The denial of . .
Cited – Kehoe, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions HL 14-Jul-2005
The applicant contended that the 1991 Act infringed her human rights in denying her access to court to obtain maintenance for her children.
Held: The applicant had no substantive right to take part in the enforcement process in domestic law . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 10 June 2022; Ref: scu.194385

Darke v Strout: CA 28 Jan 2003

Abstention in exercising of a statutory right to apply for child maintenance may afford sufficient consideration to support a compromise of a contractual claim.

Citations:

[2003] EWCA Civ 176

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Haines v Hill and Another CA 5-Dec-2007
On the divorce, the husband was ordered to transfer his share in the house to the wife. On his bankruptcy shortly after, the order was confirmed. After the wife sold the property at a profit, the trustee in bankruptcy applied to set the transfer . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Family, Contract, Child Support

Updated: 07 June 2022; Ref: scu.181105

Alexander Child-Villiers v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Linda-Benedicte Barlow: CA 17 Dec 2002

The father appealed a finding of the Child Support tribunal against his assertion that he had day to day care of his child.
Held: The Regulations provided that where, as here, one party paid the school fees of a child attending a boarding school, that case had to be treated as a special case. The tribunal had erred in following too closely the award of residence to the mother. The Child Support scheme provided a self contained statutory system for making the decision. It had to decide what would be level of care provided against the actual background, if the child were not at boarding school.

Judges:

Kennedy, Chadwick, Potter LJJ

Citations:

Times 28-Dec-2002, Gazette 23-Jan-2003, [2002] EWCA Civ 1854

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991, Child Support (Maintenance Assessment) Regulations 1992 (1992 No 1815) 27

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.178622

Denson, Regina (on the Application of) v Child Support Agency: Admn 14 Feb 2002

The claimant challenged the validity of the 1991 Act under Human Rights law, particularly Article 1 of Protocol 1 and Article 8.
Held: ‘It is quite clear in my judgment that – putting the matter generally – both the statutory scheme and the CSA’s administration of it are Convention compliant.’

Judges:

Munby J

Citations:

[2002] EWHC 154 (Admin), [2002] 1 FLR 938

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991, European Convention on Human Rights P1-1

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Kehoe CA 5-Mar-2004
The claimant had applied to the Child Support Agncy for maintenance. They failed utterly to obtain payment, and she complained now that she was denied the opportunity by the 1991 Act to take court proceedings herself.
Held: The denial of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.168031

Norris (Inspector of Taxes) v Edgson: ChD 30 May 2000

Where a father paid child support to the mother through the Child Support Agency, and where the mother had re-married and that subsequent marriage had also ended in divorce, the maintenance paid did not attract income tax relief under the section. The payment remained a ‘qualifying payment’ for claiming the tax relief only until the other party had re-married. A subsequent divorce did not defeat fulfilment of that condition.

Citations:

Gazette 31-May-2000, Times 30-May-2000

Statutes:

Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 347B

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support, Income Tax

Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.84340

In re B (a Child) (Child support: Reduction of contact): CA 23 Nov 2006

The father appealed a contact order saying that the alteration in contact arrangements would substantially affect his liability to pay child support.
Held: It was not yet clear what the father’s liability would be but it would be impractical for the court to try to discern the effect on such liability by a change in contact arrangements. The appeal was dismissed.

Judges:

Lord Justice Mummery and Lord Justice Wilson

Citations:

Times 05-Jan-2007

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991, Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 30 May 2022; Ref: scu.247772

‘F’ v Child Support Agency: Admn 25 Mar 1999

A party refusing to agree to a blood sample must be in peril of having adverse inferences drawn against him in any paternity dispute. This applied even where the law provided a presumption of paternity, and the inference was capable of overriding that presumption.

Citations:

Times 09-Apr-1999, Gazette 28-Apr-1999, Gazette 12-May-1999, [1999] EWHC Admin 262

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 27

Child Support, Family

Updated: 28 May 2022; Ref: scu.139526

Dorney-Kingdom v Dorney-Kingdom: CA 25 Jul 2000

A court may not make an original order for child maintenance, save by consent. The practice of disguising such an order, as part of spousal maintenance, pending a determination by the Child Support Agency, was only legitimate where there was included a real element of spousal maintenance. Simply calling child maintenance spousal maintenance is not correct or legitimate.

Citations:

Times 25-Jul-2000, Gazette 27-Jul-2000

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 8(5)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, Family, Child Support

Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.80101

M v British Broadcasting Corporation: FD 1997

The applicant’s child had been fathered by donor insemination. He sought to prevent the defendant publicising his forthcoming case with the Child Support Agency in which he intended to deny a responsibility to provide child support.
Held: An injunction was refused. The case was really about the protection of M’s reputation, and his desire not to publicise his infertility, and not that of any child. The public interest in the freedom of the press must prevail.

Judges:

Hale J

Citations:

[1997] 1 FLR 51

Statutes:

Administration of Justice Act 1960 12

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Kelly (A Minor) v British Broadcasting Corporation FD 25-Jul-2000
K, aged 16, had left home to join what was said to be a religious sect. His whereabouts were unknown. He had been made a ward of court and the Official Solicitor was appointed to represent his interests. He had sent messages to say that he was well . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Media, Child Support

Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.445476

Smith v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Another: HL 12 Jul 2006

The House considered whether under the 1992 Regulations a self-employed parent could use for his child support calculation his net earnings as declared to the Revenue, which would allow deduction of capital and other allowances properly claimed against tax.
Held: The appeal was allowed, and the decision of the Child Support Commissioner restored (majority). The precise and unusual phrase used in the regulations matched that used in the tax return. Lord Carswell: ‘one is entitled to place less emphasis on the coincidence in wording and return to the exercise of attempting by the use of the several recognised methods of statutory interpretation to ascertain the true intention of Parliament.’
(dissenting opinion) Though there was an inconsistency, the regulations was clear and could not be read to bear the interpretation proposed by the Secretary of State.

Judges:

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Carswell

Citations:

Times 14-Jul-2006, [2006] UKHL 35, [2006] 1 WLR 2024

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992, Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Elliss v BP Oil Northern Ireland Refinery Ltd CA 1987
The company had incurred capital expenditure in machinery and plant for trading before 1972. The 1975 Act prevented them claiming the expenditure as losses, and they sought to carry them forward to 1973 when additional claims were possible. The . .
Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M HL 8-Mar-2006
The respondent’s child lived with the estranged father for most of each week. She was obliged to contribute child support. She now lived with a woman, and complained that because her relationship was homosexual, she had been asked to pay more than . .
Cited – Kehoe, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions HL 14-Jul-2005
The applicant contended that the 1991 Act infringed her human rights in denying her access to court to obtain maintenance for her children.
Held: The applicant had no substantive right to take part in the enforcement process in domestic law . .
Cited – Marckx v Belgium ECHR 13-Jun-1979
Recognition of illegitimate children
The complaint related to the manner in which parents were required to adopt their own illegitimate child in order to increase his rights. Under Belgian law, no legal bond between an unmarried mother and her child results from the mere fact of birth. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Clift, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimants were former serving prisoners who complained that the early release provisions discriminated against them unjustifiably. Each was subject to a deportation requirement, and said that in their cases the control on the time for their . .
Cited – Alvi, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 18-Jul-2012
The claimant had entered as a student, and then stayed under a work permit. New rules were brought in, and because his occupation as a physiotherapy assistant was not listed, he was not credited with sufficient points for a permit. The Court of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Income Tax, Taxes Management

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.243083

Regina v Secretary of State for Social Security, ex parte West: CA 26 Nov 1998

An uncontested consent order granting a man parental responsibility was sufficient adjudication that he was indeed the father of the child for the purposes of the Child Support Act despite the absence of any inquiry of fact by the court.

Citations:

Times 26-Nov-1998

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 26(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.87776

Regina v Housing Benefit Review Board of Swale Borough Council ex parte Simon Stuart Marchant: CA 17 Nov 1999

A party in a separated couple where primary residence was with the other party, had staying contact, but the child benefit remained unapportioned. That party was not able to claim housing benefit which would reflect his need for larger accommodation to facilitate that staying contact. The decision was an administrative exercise as to whether the child was ‘normally living’ with him.

Citations:

Times 17-Nov-1999

Statutes:

Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 137

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Regina v Housing Benefit Review Board of Swale Borough Council ex parte Simon Stuart Marchant Admn 17-Dec-1998
Where children of a broken marriage split their time equally between both parents, but only one parent received all the Child Benefit, the local authority was entitled to set allowance for size of house supported by housing benefit on the same . .

Cited by:

Appealed to – Regina v Housing Benefit Review Board of Swale Borough Council ex parte Simon Stuart Marchant Admn 17-Dec-1998
Where children of a broken marriage split their time equally between both parents, but only one parent received all the Child Benefit, the local authority was entitled to set allowance for size of house supported by housing benefit on the same . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Benefits, Child Support

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.85578

McKerry v Teesdale and Wear Valley Justices; McKerry v Director of Public Prosecutions: CA 29 Feb 2000

The courts must recognise the need to protect the identity of children involved in criminal proceedings. This derived both from national statute and from international law and practice. Nevertheless, the court had the discretion in appropriate cases to order disclosure of the name of a child convicted before it of criminal charges where the public interest properly required this. As to the giving of reasons for their decision by magistrates: ‘It is not usual for magistrates to give detailed reasons; nor is it usual for juries, who make very important decisions affecting human rights, to give any reasons at all. If an aggrieved party wishes to obtain more detailed reasons from a magistrates’ court, then a request can be made to state a case, as was done here, and the justices have given their reasons at somewhat greater length.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham

Citations:

Gazette 16-Mar-2000, Times 29-Feb-2000, [2001] EMLR 5

Statutes:

Children and Young Persons Act 1933 49(4A)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Mathialagan, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Southwark and Another CA 13-Dec-2004
Liability Orders were made against the appellant in respect of non-domestic rates in respect of two properties. The orders were made in the absence of the appellant or any representative. Application for judicial review was made to re-open the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Criminal Practice, Media

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.83553

Henderson v Secretary of State for Social Security: CA 1 Dec 1998

A transfer of a share in an equitable interest in a house, is itself an equitable interest in land, and its transfer value could be incorporated in the calculations used to determine the maintenance assessment for child support purposes.

Citations:

Times 01-Dec-1998

Statutes:

Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 (1992 No 1815)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support

Updated: 10 May 2022; Ref: scu.81315

Lord Lilford v Glyn: CA 1979

The judge had ordered the father to make money settlements on his daughters which had no relation to accommodation or their need during minority.
Held: The judge had gone quite ouside the jurisdiction of the Act, and the appeal succeeded. Children are entitled to a suitable home, to an upbringing, and to an education which is appropriate to their family’s circumstances and standard of living. But they are not entitled to long term provision into adulthood unless they have some special need.
Orr LJ said: ‘There is not . . one rule for millionaires and another for less wealthy fathers.’

Judges:

Orr LJ

Citations:

[1979] 1 WLR 78

Statutes:

Matrimonial Causes Act 19735

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Tavoulareas v Tavoulareas (2) CA 19-Nov-1996
Both husband and wife had independent means, and neither worked. The wife had spent pounds 100,000k on Children Act proceedings, and sought ancillary relief. The judge had made an order on capital to reflect the fact that if those costs had not been . .
Cited – Ilott v The Blue Cross and Others SC 15-Mar-2017
What is reasonable provision for daughter
The deceased had left her estate in her will to several animal charities. The claimant, her daughter, had been estranged from her mother for many years, and sought reasonable provision from her estate under the 1975 Act. The district judge had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Family, Child Support

Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.235329

McGowan v McGowan: 1948

Just as a husband’s common law duty to maintain his wife would normally be discharged by providing the home which they shared, the father’s duty to maintain his children would be discharged by providing them with a home.

Judges:

Lord Hodson

Citations:

[1948] 2 All ER 1032

Cited by:

Cited – Kehoe, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions HL 14-Jul-2005
The applicant contended that the 1991 Act infringed her human rights in denying her access to court to obtain maintenance for her children.
Held: The applicant had no substantive right to take part in the enforcement process in domestic law . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support

Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.228604

Langley v Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: CA 15 Oct 2004

It was discriminatory to treat differently homosexual and heterosexual couples when considering liability for child support payments. Sedley LJ: ‘The broad effect of the material provisions is to allocate the financial responsibility of separated parents for the maintenance of their children by pooling the absent parent’s income and outgoings with those of his or her new partner if, but only if, that partner is of the opposite sex. For same-sex couples this means that the one who is an absent parent is assessed as if living alone, with generally disadvantageous consequences.’ and ‘Putting it schematically, the child support scheme sets out to respect family life by making allowance for the joint expenses of an absent parent’s new household. It is this, without regard to discrimination, which brings the measure within the ambit of article 8. If then the scheme discriminates between one family unit and another on the ground of its members’ sexuality, article 14 too becomes engaged. Here, by treating their finances as wholly separate when they are not, and by consequently assessing M’s child support payment at a higher sum that if theirs was a heterosexual partnership, the scheme manifests a different level of respect for their family life.’
Neuberger LJ: ‘the reduction in liability effected by regulation 11 is accorded for the purpose of ensuring that that absent parent’s new family is not so deprived of money that it is significantly detrimentally affected by the liability of the absent parent to pay child support. To my mind, it follows from this that M has made good her case that the relevant provision, of which she does not have the benefit because she is in a same sex, rather than a heterosexual, relationship, was enacted out of respect for family life, the family life in question being that of the absent parent and his/her new partner.’

Judges:

Lord Justice Kennedy Lord Justice Sedley Lord Justice Neuberger

Citations:

[2004] EWCA (Civ) 1343, Times 11-Nov-2004

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal From – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M HL 8-Mar-2006
The respondent’s child lived with the estranged father for most of each week. She was obliged to contribute child support. She now lived with a woman, and complained that because her relationship was homosexual, she had been asked to pay more than . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Discrimination

Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.218841

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Jones: FD 2 Jul 2003

The appellant Secretary of State challenged a decision of magistrates as to whether the respondent was the father of a child for whom Child Support was sought. The mother had been married, but had been living with the respondent at the appropriate time. The respondent had refused to provide a DNA sample for testing. The magistrates applied the presumption that a child born in wedlock was the child of the husband.
Held: The magistrates had erred in law. The presumption which followed a refusal to provide a sample was virtually inescapable, and should be given greater weight than the presumption of legitimacy. The result, if the magistrates had been correct, was that a child could never obtain a declaration of paternity, which would impact upon the child’s right to family life.

Judges:

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss President

Citations:

Times 13-Aug-2003, Gazette 18-Sep-2003

Statutes:

Family Law Act 1986

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Applied – In Re W v G (Paternity); In Re A (A Minor) CA 18-May-1994
The judge was wrong to limit his ability to draw inferences from a putative father’s refusal to take a test to discover paternity. . .
Applied – In re G (Parentage: Blood Sample) CA 1997
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Children

Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.185857

In re P (Child: Financial Provision): CA 24 Jun 2003

The court considered the amount of an allowance to be provided to a parent which would, on divorce, take care of a child of the family in a moderate to high income case.
Held: The carer would not themselves be entitled to an allowance personally, but only in his or her capacity as carer. The exercise was one of discretion, involving a broad commonsense approach. It can be easier to decide first what was to happen to any capital sum with a view to providing a home. A balance had then to be found between competing principles. The carer was not herself entitled to an allowance but would inevitably make sacrifices. The carer should be allowed a budget which reflected her position and that of the father, both social and financial.

Judges:

Thorpe, May LJJ, Bodey J

Citations:

Times 24-Jul-2003, Gazette 04-Sep-2003, [2003] 2 FLR 865

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – In Re S (a Child: Unmarried Parents: financial provision) CA 1-Mar-2006
(Date) The mother appealed against an order of andpound;800,000 to provide her with a home in which to bring up the child of the wealthy ummarried couple.
Held: The judge had erred in scaling down pro rata an award made in another large money . .
Cited – Morgan v Hill CA 28-Nov-2006
The father appealed an award of periodical payments to a former partner. She had a child by an earlier relationship. The father was immensely rich and during the relationship made financial provision for the child by the earlier relationship also. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Child Support, Family

Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.185196

Secretary of State for Social Security v Harmon; Same v Carter; Same v Cocks: CA 10 Jun 1998

The duty of a parent with care to apply for child support applies if he or she is actually paid benefit, irrespective of any possibility that the benefit claim may fall to be challenged. The requirement is that benefits are actually not just lawfully paid.

Citations:

Gazette 24-Jun-1998, Times 10-Jun-1998

Statutes:

Child Support Act 1991 6(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Child Support, Benefits

Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.89094