Timetable for change

• July 2008: The Commission was established as a statutory Non-Departmental Public Body.
• July 2008: The option for new benefit claimants to choose between private or statutory child maintenance arrangements was introduced. The compulsion for these parents to use the Child Support Agency's (CSA's) statutory maintenance service was removed.
• October 2008: The compulsion for existing CSA clients claiming benefits to continue using the Agency was removed. All parents are now able to choose the child maintenance arrangements that best suit their circumstances, and they will be supported by Child Maintenance Options. Parents claiming benefits were able to keep more of any child maintenance received (up to £20 per week) before it affected their benefits. This meant that more money flowed to low income families. Child maintenance payments were fully disregarded when calculating Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims.
• November 2008: The Commission assumed responsibility for the Child Support Agency
• 2009/10: The Commission's new enforcement powers are being introduced, such as the power to take money from bank accounts. These new powers are applied to both the existing schemes.
• From April 2010: Child maintenance was fully disregarded when calculating all out-of-work benefits. This allows parents with the main day-to-day care to keep every penny of their child maintenance payments, without it affecting their entitlement to benefit.
• From 2011: The new 'gross income' statutory maintenance scheme will be established. Latest available tax year information from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will be used for child maintenance calculations, which will be based on gross rather than net income. Existing clients on both the existing statutory schemes will be actively supported either to make their own arrangements or to move to the new 'gross income' scheme.
• 2014: A single system of child maintenance will be in place.