A father has won his appeal against the amount of child maintenance he should pay after a tribunal was found to have erred in law when considering his case. 

Case Background 

The issue arose when the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) decided that the father was not required to pay any sum for child maintenance (previously £42.71 per week). This decision was based on CMS’s acceptance of the father’s evidence that he and the children’s mother provided equal shared care of the children. The mother appealed, and the First Tier Tribunal found in her favor. 

Tribunal’s Initial Decision 

The judge stated that the mother performed tasks such as cutting the children’s nails and appeared more focused on the children’s best interests, while the father was more concerned with financial expenditures. Consequently, the tribunal concluded that the mother provided more day-to-day care. 

Upper Tribunal’s Decision 

The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) overturned this decision following the father’s appeal. It held that assessing day-to-day care requires considering who carries out the immediate and mundane aspects of care and making findings of fact based on this evidence. The tribunal had based its decision on a value judgment of the parents’ motivations, which was impermissible. The tribunal erred in law by not applying the correct legal test, and the matter was remitted to be reheard by a newly constituted tribunal.