Winner Takes All? Minority Carers, ‘Splitting’ and Child Tax Credit after Humphreys

Access to State support for families in the aftermath of separation and divorce is a controversial area of Family and Social Welfare Law. Once it has been decided which parent in a post-separation, shared care situation has, in law, ‘main responsibility’ for a child, most forms of support are then directed at that parent and her/his household. This includes Child Tax Credit (CTC) which is generally paid by HMRC in full to that parent - even if the
other parent is a minority carer living on subsistence benefits; and even if that person is delivering substantial
care each week, and meeting the costs of facilitating care, overnight stays, etc. Despite recognising the indirectly discriminatory nature of some aspects of the current legal regime, and accepting that ‘the situation is a matter of real concern’, the Court of Appeal in Humphreys ruled that the government's and HM Revenue and Customs' approach was legally justified. The article discusses the financial and legal problems faced by substantial minority carers, and the impact of the current system on parents and children; and argues that a review of the legislative framework is overdue.