CSA - CMEC Changes Advice please.

As NRP, I'm quite concerned about the changes from CSA to CMEC and Gross Income Calculation.

Based on info I can find on internet, I assume that for one child I will pay 12% of my gross income.

Does anyone know if there will be deductions on amount calculated for overnight stays with NRP.

Really concerend as although I'm not and never have been in arrears, I'm seriously struggling to keep my head above water with my current payments, and have cut down on everything I can, including minimal heating when my daughter isn't with me, house in darkness to save on electricity, cheapest meals possible etc.

If no consideration is taken at all of overnight stays, then I honestly don't know how I will survive as this would increase my payments by about £90 per month, leaving me after mortgage, council tax, utilities only £200 per month to live on. I already fall into the poverty poor bracket because of where I live and have limited options to heat my home (oil heating, living in very north of country). I don't have a big mortgage, as my 2 bedroom home was bought at a reasonable price 8 years ago.

I can find the calculations, but nothing about deductions.

Hey kaz don't worry, the calcs you started out on are the ones you continue, if you were already csa, it stays the same calc from when you started.
There are are one or two still on the pre 15, 20, 25% calcs.

the new system is still very much in the pipeline and yes, will include a deduction for overnight stays. You should perhaps be more worried about the plans to start charging, which as far as I can tell, is going to happen within the next couple of years. Essentially, you will be paying somewhere between 7% - 12% of your assessment on top of your assessment to use the CSA's services. The plan is to attempt to move parents into making their own arrangements, presumably so the CSA has more time to chase those who are genuinely not paying up. Or better said, to reduce the burden on the tax payer (currently it costs 40p in the £ to collect from the CSA!)

I wouldn't worry about it as it is unlikely to happen. When CS1 changed to CS2 all cases were supposed to migrate acroos with phasing over up to 5 years to prevent sudden huge increases or drops in assessments.

It never happened and some people still pay under a CS1 arrangement!

When CSA was originally set up they charged for the "service" but it was challenged in court and deemed illegal in the mid 90's. There hasn't been any charges since but presumably there will be a change made to the law to allow this if it hasn't already happened.

CSA was never set up to provide maintenance for children. It was set up to recover benefits paid to single parents and so cut the benefits bill which was ballooning (sounds familiar nearly 20 years later?).

All it has done is cost the tax payer an Absolute fortune and cause a lot of animosity in break ups where none would have been. Those that would have paid towards the upkeep of their children still did, those that would have tried everything to avoid it still do and often get away with it.

I've been looking up on this again, and whilst I appreciate WYSPECIAL you're enthusiasim that it will take years to kick in, with my luck I will be first in the queue.

They reckon it will be easier to incorporate everyone onto this system because your employers will play an extremely important role, and taking from Gross means they will use the HMRC figures from previous year. Makes you laugh, we will now have another body renouned for making catastrophic mistakes helping with the calculations.

On a positive note there is supposed to be "Protected Earnings Proportion", and it seems to be around 60% of NET pay by details provided by your current CSA scheme.

If this is correct, then I will be worse off but not by the huge amount of £90 per month. The reason I'm going to be hit hard is because I have a company car, and with net earnings my deductions on the personal allowance for this are taken into account. With gross no allowance is made. I'm a sales rep, therefore my company car is required to do my job, I have smallest car available to me ref Co2 emmissions etc, and I pay for my private fuel.

I've also read that I will be forced to pay this until my daughter is 20. Not seen anything about other circumstances regarding this, ie my daughter plans to go to Uni, I have a savings plan in place (Old endowment, no longer attached to a mortgage) which I was planning on using on my daughter either for Uni fees (if they come in), books, car (we live in countryside poor bus service) or even putting into an ISA, if she doesn't go so I can help her save for a deposit for purchasing property.

I also am clinging on to a flat I had before I was married. It's still mortgaged and the income I recieve doesn't even cover all my costs. The reason for clinging on again is to help my daughter have somewhere to stay should she decide on Uni. If she decides on Uni in a different town, I can sell it and buy a place where she does decide to go.

I'm currently trying to change mortgage on this to interest only, which would help free up some cash to help pay my CM, I really don't want to cash in endowment as I will be heavily penalised, and it only has 6 years to run, the exact time which my daughter will have left of her secondary education.

My ex puts awway nothing for my daughter's future. I pay him a more than reasonable sum, and my daughter should be able to have a good standard of living, but my ex prefers to spend the money on himself and his wife.

I know that for everyones sake a one size solution that fits all would be wonderful, but that rarely is the case when it comes to things like this.

With regards to charging, I'm hoping that that will make my ex more amenable to a discussion on this.

All I can say is that God for the CSA!!!

They have done an absolutely marvellous job for me. My x believed that as I didn't want him back and he had a new g/f he did not have to pay the SM as agreed per Consent Order, or maintenance for the children.

I took him to court for the maintenance (cost me £40) and the CSA have dealt with the CM.

Its disgusing that some absent parents through anger and bitterness believe that they can abuse their ex partner through withholding monies their ex needs in order to survive with their children.

My x is now making the children (and me) suffer by cancelling their mobile contracts (birthday presents £12 per month). Of course they are not suffering as I have provided new cheap phones.