IDG61000 - Procedure for disclosing to others (government): Child Support Agency: General

Why share information with the Child Support Agency

HMRC may provide the CSA with information to assist with the tracing of an absent parent, earnings information to assist for child support purposes, and tax credit information.

On 3 November 2008 the child maintenance functions held by the Child Support Agency (CSA) were transferred to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. The Commission is still branded as the Child Support Agency, and so is referred to as the Child Support Agency in this guidance. However the Commission is a different legal entity from the former CSA. In particular it is no longer an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and is instead a Non-Departmental Public Body. This means that the Commission will operate independently of DWP and disclosures to the Commission will take place under a different legal gateway.

In Northern Ireland, the Child Support Agency remains an agency of the DWP and the previous information sharing arrangements continue.

Type of information which can be disclosed

Please see the appropriate page for the procedure to follow: