This Practice Note sets out the jurisdiction of the court to make a periodical payments order for a child (maintenance provision) under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) and details what orders may be made and who may apply. It also considers matters the court will have regard to, the position in relation to half siblings and relevant case law.

Most child maintenance will be dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), see Practice Notes: Statutory child support scheme and Child support—respective jurisdictions of the Child Maintenance Service and the court, however, by virtue of ChA 1989, s 15 and Sch 1, the court has jurisdiction to make a periodical payments order for a child in certain defined circumstances. The majority of such applications relate to parties who have not married or entered into a civil partnership. The issue of whether a periodical payments order under Sch 1 could include an element of ‘carer's allowance’ has been considered and approved and is not only relevant in cases