Child maintenance: correction of accidental errors

This consultation is seeking comments on a proposal to introduce a new procedure for correcting simple administrative errors, known as accidental errors, in decisions made in relation to a child maintenance calculation under the Child Support Act 1991.

This change would mean that where the Secretary of State corrects an accidental error in such a decision at the request of a party to a decision (a “client”), the decision could be corrected under the new procedure. A client would be required to apply for a revision of the corrected decision before an appeal could be made to the first-tier tribunal. Under the current procedure, in this scenario, the client could immediately appeal the corrected decision, without first having to request a revision (because the correction action is undertaken as a revision, legally).