Consultation outcome

Call for evidence on social security and separated parents

Updated 31 October 2019

As part of its independent work programme, the Social Security Advisory Committee is conducting research into the financial position of separated parents and the social security system.

We are trying to gather a pool of evidence on which we can draw from to help underpin our research. We would therefore welcome input from a broad range of organisations and individuals who have relevant insights or evidence to share with us.

Background to our research project

Whilst significant research has been focused on lone parents’ outcomes and experience of work and the social security system, significantly less research has looked at similar issues for separated parents and, in particular, non-resident parents^{[footnote 1]}.

Therefore, this research seeks to better understand the living standards of parents who have separated. The research will consider the living standards of both the resident (who lives with the children most of the time) and non-resident parent but will have a specific focus on non-resident parents given the relatively limited amount of existing research on this group.

In particular, the research seeks to get a better understanding of how living standards and well-being are affected by:

• child maintenance
• Child Benefit
• the legacy benefit system (for example Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit and Working Tax Credit)
• Universal Credit

This includes whether the tax and benefit system (and interactions between them and child maintenance) creates any negative outcomes or perverse incentives that potentially undermines the objectives of the social security system. For example, reduces the incentive to work or pushes people into poverty. We are also interested in understanding whether the social security system could be designed or delivered more effectively to help balance the needs and resources of separated parents and their children.

Call for evidence

The committee would like to hear from anyone who has experience and evidence on the following and especially evidence and experience relating to non-resident parents.

1. How does the current tax and benefit system affect living standards and well-being of non-resident parents, resident parents and their children? This includes income and time spent with children and how people feel treated in the social security system.

2. Are there any subgroups who are particularly affected by the tax and benefit system following separation? For example, type of benefit recipient, whether in work or out of work, shared care arrangements or protected characteristic, such as age?

3. Is there any evidence of how this is changing under Universal Credit?

4. What lessons or insights can we draw from other countries (in the design of their tax and benefit systems in relation to separated parents to support the needs and resources of separated parents and their children)?

We are also interested in how shared care arrangements have changed over time and whether those trends were driven by the benefit system. Therefore, we would like to hear from anyone who has experience and evidence on the following.

5. Is there any evidence to suggest how shared care arrangements have changed over time?

6. Is there any evidence to suggest whether the benefit system drove these changes or that they were driven by something else?

7. Is there any evidence to suggest how Universal Credit may be having an impact on shared care arrangements?

How to respond

Responses, focusing on the above questions, are needed by 16 April 2019 and should be emailed to:

ssac.consultation@ssac.gov.uk

Or sent to:

The Committee Secretary
Social Security Advisory Committee
5th Floor
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA

1. Where the parent who has the child live with them most of the time is the resident parent and the other parent is called the non-resident parent. ↩