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Spurgeons and Dad.Info doesn’t investigate reports of abuse or neglect. But below, you can find advice on who to contact if you have concerns about a child or young person.
Reporting a concern
It can be difficult to know what to do if you think a child is at risk. It’s important to remember that if you’ve spotted things that don’t seem right, others will have too. Speaking up can make sure that child gets help as soon as possible.
The sooner you contact your local children’s social care duty team, the quicker they can act. They’re available 24 hours a day, and can make an anonymous report if that feels safer. If a child is in immediate danger, please call the police straight away by dialling 999.
Report child abuse or neglect to your local council
Use these links to get in touch with your local council:
Hi all
first of all a bit of background, currently i am living with my partner & 2 awesome boys 4 & 3 year old. we are on the verge of breaking up officially (been over awhile really) and i really need some advice with not being n this situation before. We have a mortgage on the house & she has already told me she will be using CMS when i leave.
so a couple of questions please
1. Do CMS use P60 for calculations or my recent payslips? My overtime has massively been reduced since the new financial year, i hammered it last year and made £62k, i am not earning no where near that for this year, my worry is if they go off the P60 and i move out and pay rent (roughly 650-700) house bills, personnel bills/debt, the house we shares mortgage (my side 450) i would struggle to have much left for food etc and to do fun things with the kids.
2. Do CMS take mortgage payments on the house shared into account? when i wont be living there
3. The girlfriend has said she wont be moving out of the house, we signed a declaration of trust due to inequal deposits, could this force her to sell? she earns £40,000 a year so could afford a house on her own but cant afford to buy me out of this one, i have £60,000 roughly in the house that i need to set up a future/house for me & my kids, she has roughly £20,000 in the house if sold at market value. Would i win in court? she seems to think she will win as there is kids involved.
4. As a dad what are my chances of getting 50/50 in court? i work 3 days a week 4 days off (shift pattern) no criminal convictions & a good job. reason im asking i have been told 2 nights at most per week & Christmas time spent with her & her family every year, i find that disrespectful to me & my side of the family.
hope i have not waffled on & i appreciate the advice.
Thank You
hi,
CMS will check your tax records with HMRC for most recent tax year. they will use that to work out a payment plan for you. they use a 25% tolerance level for income. so if they write to you and state that you have to pay based on £62k and lets say kids stay with you 2 nights a week, then that would amount to £650 a month maintenance. you can check with CMS calculator: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance
they also take pension contributions into account when working out how much you have to pay.
if today your earning is 25% less than 62k, you would call CMS and tell them. they will likely ask you to send them 3 months worth of payslips. then they should re-calculate and lower your payments.
see here, the section the 6 steps: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-we-work-out-child-maintenance/how-we-work-out-child-maintenance#the-six-steps--an-example
2. in above guide ^ it says:
A paying parent can ask us to take certain expenses into account.
These are called ‘special expenses’ and can reduce the paying parent’s gross income figure.
You can apply for a ‘special expenses variation’ for:
- making payments on a mortgage, loan or insurance policy for the home that the paying parent and receiving parent used to share – the receiving parent and the child or children must still live in the home and the paying parent must have no legal or ‘equitable’ interest in it (must be at least £10 a week)
3. I recommend you seek legal advice from solicitors regarding divorce and finances. She will likely get a better deal as she is going to be primary carer.
4. getting 50/50 in court can be difficult if your ex is not agreeable. you have to demonstrate you can get along with each other reasonably, and that your job is flexible enough to manage school runs etc. I recommend you try mediation with her to try and sort out a sensible child arrangements. can use courts as last resort. its pretty common to see kids every other weekend and half of holidays. feel free to get in touch if you need more advice.
@bill337 thanks Bill. 25% seems a high tolerance though suprised that's aloud!
On point 3 we are not married so hopefully that night help a bit but will seek advice.
I appreciate the response some great info there