Re:Changes to Child Benefit - Impact to CSA calc?

In case it helps anyone in the future, I have had a response from the Caxton House consultation regarding my question:

"You are quite correct in saying that if HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) withdraw Child Benefit from higher rate taxpayers it will have an impact on our rules concerning children living with non-resident parents. However, HMRC have yet to release their detailed proposals for changing Child Benefit. When this happens, we will fully consider the impact of this and make whatever changes to rules that are deemed necessary.

However I would like to reassure you that we want to ensure that the new statutory calculation scheme continues to recognise that many parents will be supporting children in different families. It is the Government's intention that a non-resident parent who has a child living with them will still pay less maintenance in the future than one who does not."

That's pretty much what I thought. The draft regulations are ­base­d on changes that have have mostly been made before the current government decided that CB shouldn't be available to higher income families. The rule about relevant children where the family is in receipt of CB is current and will be easily ammended.

If under the special circumstances rule the CSA can consider evidence to determine who is the parent with care entitled to receive CM I can't see why a parent with care in the non resident parent's family can't be established in a similar fashion.