7.30. Will the CSA take account of my student loan debt? (1999-07-28)

No. But some clients have had it allowed as a departure. Alternatively you may have insufficient income to pay it back after allowing for the maintenance assessment.

7.31. AVCs - does the CSA take them into account (2001-10-31)

Yes. They are treated the same as personal pension plan payments. Half of them is subtracted from your gross income when calculating your net income.

7.32. My children stay with me. Does the CSA take this into account? (2001-11-30)

Only if they stay with you for at least 104 nights a year. The CSA does have the discretion to consider total hours, rather than nights.

See 7.2.What if care of the child is shared?

7.33. Is the PWC's income taken into account? (1999-07-28)

Yes, if the joint "assessable income" of both parents is more than twice the "maintenance requirement".

The "assessable income" of each parent is calculated. If the PWC is in receipt of benefits, including Family Credit, then this is deemed to be none.

If the parents' joint "assessable income" is more than twice the "maintenance requirement" then the "basic element" of the assessment is the "maintenance requirement" apportioned according to the parents "assessable income"s. So, for example, if the "maintenance requirement" were UKP70 and the AP's assessable income were twice the PWC's then the "basic element" of the assessment would be two thirds which is UKP46.67.

The "additional element" is calculated in the normal way.

7.34. Is there a maximum assessment? (2001-10-31)

Yes. It is basic maintenance plus the maximum additional element.

Where the PWC has no assessable income this is: child IS allowance + IS family premium + carer element - child benefit + 1.5 * child IS allowance + 1.5 * IS basic family premium (for EACH child).

Assuming that the PWC has no partner and the child is a baby, at 2001 rates that would be...

31.45 + 14.50 + 53.05 - 15.50 + 1.5 * (31.45 + 14.50)

Which is £152.43 per week.

7.35. Is there a maximum %age of income that can be taken? (2001-10-28)

40% including arrears or 30% if there are no arrears.

This seems to be 40% of take-home pay after deducting housing costs, i.e. "Net Income" in the calculations.

Alternatively they can take the difference between "Net Income" and "Exempt Income".

7.36. What if I'm paying toward my ex-partner's mortgage? (1999-07-28)

It is not an allowable housing cost because it does not relate to your home.

It should be taken as part of your ex-partner's income.

7.37. What if the someone doesn't live in the UK? (2001-10-31)

The CSA can only make an assessment if the child(ren), PWC and NRP are "habitually resident in the UK", or if the NRP lives abroad but for an organisation which is UK-based.

There is no legal definition of "habitually resident in the UK". It is a question of fact, not of law. When a decision is being made about the fact they could consider past, continuing and intended future connections with the UK, any reason for leaving, the nature of work done outside the UK and, of course, any periods of residency in and out of the UK.
This is the advice given to Decision Makers for determining habitual residence in the UK:

Examples of people who are likely to be habitually resident. This is not an exhaustive list.
1)A person who has been abroad for less than 3 years and who has now returned to the UK.
2)A person working for a set period in another country, for example an au pair, a teacher on a year's exchange, a person doing seasonal work, or someone on a fixed term contract - provided they return to the UK afterwards.
3)A person working in another country who frequently returns to the UK (especially if they have kept a home here).
4)A person who has lived all their life in UK until going abroad to work and who is likely to come back to this country.
5)A person from another country who has lived here for some years before going back to the country from which they originally came for a limited period.

Examples of people not likely to be habitually resident. This is not an exhaustive list.
1)A person who has lived in this country for only a few years before going back to their country of origin or moving to a third country with no definite intention of coming back to the UK.
2)A person who goes to live in a country where they have family connections.
3)A person who buys a house or leases one on a long term basis in another country.
4)A person who has worked abroad on a long succession of fixed term contracts and has only rarely or never come back to the UK.
5)A person who has entered the UK illegally

The courts are still empowered to deal with maintenance when one (or more?) of the people involved are not habitually resident in the UK.

There has been bar-room gossip about some countries having reciprocal arrangements, e.g. all the EC and Australia but we have never heard of this happening and cannot find it in the legislation.

The big problem is the certainty of being unable to fulfil parental duties and have parental pleasures. Maybe we owe it to the kids to be around, even distantly, as parents. Maybe not - if you never intended to be a parent, have never/seldom seen the child and have no access then leaving the UK might be a good option.

The rules for whether the organisation that a potential NRP works for is UK-based are complicated, but amount to "could the CSA impose a DEO on the NRP if necessary?" If so, then the NRP is considered to be within jurisdiction.

7.38. What if the AP is self-employed and won't provide income details? (2001-10-31)

The agency should do an Interim Maintenance Assessment (IMA), designed to be punitive.

7.39. When will the CSA assessment replace my existing court order? (1999-07-28)

If:
* the assessment is an initial Full Maintenance Assessment (FMA)
* the assessment does not replace an Interim Maintenance Assessment(IMA)
* the court order was in force on the date the assessment was made

then the "effective date" of the FMA (i.e. when it becomes payable) is 2 days after the date of the assessment and the CSA should not ask for any payments covering the period before that date.