Terms & Conditions

[Anonymous]

At the moment this is a hypothetical question, because we haven’t yet checked out the situation thoroughly:

Claimant works 40+ hours a week and has three dependant children. He pays childcare costs while he goes out to work. The care provider is his ex-partner and (as far as I am aware) the mother of the children. If it turns out that she is a registered childminder, or meets any one of the other qualifying conditions for the care provider, I think the costs would be allowed against his income, as there does not seem to be anything in the regs that would disqualify her as a ‘proper’ care provider on the grounds that she is the children’s mother.

Or am I missing something?

[Stalbansbenefits]

[quote:e0ec3a9aff](7) The charges are paid for care which is provided by one or more of the care providers listed in paragraph ( 8 ) and are not paid—
(a) in respect of the child´s compulsory education;
(b) by a claimant to a partner or by a partner to a claimant in respect of any child for whom either or any of them is responsible in accordance with regulation 20 (circumstances in which a person is treated as responsible or not responsible for another); or [/quote:e0ec3a9aff]

The DWP have covered payments to a claimant’s current partner, but not an ex-partner. I think you would have to be satisfied that the payments are actually being made (but if both parties state they are, how would you disprove it?), but I think you are right in that there is nothing in the Regs. to prevent you taking the payments into account.

[petedavies]

I agree that there is nothing in the Regs to prevent payments being taken into account but…

…The use of the word “charge” implies some form of contractual liability. If the former partner is the parent as well, I think she is likley to be an absent parent for the purposes of the 1995 Child Support Act and will have a statotory responsibility for contibuting towards the children. If so they may not be able to contract depending on what other arrangements, if any, have been made for the mother to discharge her responsibility.

P.S. At least I [u:f775f515c0]think[/u:f775f515c0] its the 1995CSA that sets out the definition and requirement!

[Author]

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