Child maintenance deductions will be allowed from joint accounts 1 November 2017
New powers to stop parents avoiding paying child maintenance that they owe have been announced.
If a parent owes child maintenance, deductions to recover that debt can currently only be made from a bank or building society account held solely by them. So a small minority of parents are cheating their way out of supporting their children by putting their money into a joint account with a partner.
New laws will come into effect early next year to allow deductions to be made from joint accounts in order to recover child maintenance arrears.
Geographical extent – the new power will come into effect early in 2018 and will apply to England, Scotland and Wales.
The government’s response to a public consultation on joint account deductions has been published which sets out how deduction orders against joint accounts will work and the safeguards that will be in place to protect the other holder of the joint account. These include: a deduction order only being imposed on a joint account when the paying parent does not have their own account, or there is not enough money in their own account only funds belonging to the paying parent being targeted, as before a deduction order is made on a joint account, data on that bank account will be collected and bank statements examined to establish which money in the account belongs to the paying parent existing safeguards already in place for deduction orders for child maintenance will apply to this new power, including the maximum deduction rate on regular orders being set at 40% of the paying parent’s weekly income both account holders will be given the right to make their case before a deduction order is made.
Back to Contents
Median earnings for FT employees up 2.2% 2 November 2017
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings in the UK (ASHE) shows that median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in the UK were £550, up 2.2% from £539 in 2016.
The 2.2% growth seen this year is the joint highest since the economic downturn in 2008 (matching that seen in 2013 and 2016). Similarly the median gross weekly earnings for part-time employees also increased, from £177 in 2016 to £182 in 2017 (2.9%).
Revised figures for 2016 have been published and provisional figures for 2017. Key points form the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings in the UK include:
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Policy News Journal
cipp.org.uk
Page 151 of 516
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker