Case studies - faults in "shared care" in the reformed scheme

Case Studies - anomalies in the reformed shared-care formula
1	Two separated parents earn the same and share care 4:3. The NRP becomes far worse off than the PWC, and would be much better off never seeing the child.
2	Two rich parents share care equally. The person claiming Child Benefit is encouraged to use the CSA to obtain an unfair stream of money from the NRP.
3	The NRP is on benefits and the PWC earns. The NRP is financially abandoned by the state and the other parent while caring for the child.
4	Both parents earn the same low pay and share care equally. The parent claiming Child Benefit can also claim WFTC and childcare tax credits. The state bribes the NRP never to see the children.
5	Like "1", but they earn a little more and share care 5:2, with similar results.
6	Both parents are on benefits and share care. Only the PWC gets help from the state for the child.
7	This shows the totally unexplained difference between the way the CSA White Paper deals with equal split care and with equal shared care of two children.

Case Study 6

The situation

Both parents are on benefits. The parent with care gets Income Support, while the other parent is out of work and on Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based).

The latter looks after the child for 2 nights per week. In total they spend £60 per week on the child.

The result

The PWC has £52.20 left for things other than their child. The other parent has little more than half this left.

(It is also likely that the parent with care gets Housing Benefit for a house suitable for looking after a child, while the other parent has to look after their child in a bed-sit).

This is an HTML transcription of an article written in September 1999, hence the benefits rates, the references to the White Paper, etc.

Page last updated: 5 July, 2004