Petitions/Allow shared benefits for children in split families
StatusClosed
Opened17 Dec 2025
Closes17 Jun 2026
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

Parents who share care of their children should be entitled to an equal share of child-related benefits (Child Benefit, Universal Credit elements, DLA), rather than only one parent receiving them. We feel the current system is unfair to working parents.

We believe the current benefits and child maintenance system is unfair to separated parents who share care of their children. One parent receives all child-related benefits, even when the other might provide regular care, such as three nights a week. This leaves many working parents struggling to support their children without help. The Government should review the system so benefits and financial support are shared more fairly between parents with regular shared care.

10,000
100,000

Constituency engagement ranking

Lorraine Beavers
1Lorraine Beavers MP
Blackpool North and Fleetwood
4
Sir Edward Leigh
2Sir Edward Leigh MP
Gainsborough
3
Stephanie Peacock
3Stephanie Peacock MP
Barnsley South
1
Liam Conlon
4Liam Conlon MP
Beckenham and Penge
1
Graham Stringer
5Graham Stringer MP
Blackley and Middleton South
1
Chris Webb
6Chris Webb MP
Blackpool South
1
Sarah Gibson
7Sarah Gibson MP
Chippenham
1
Sir Christopher Chope
8Sir Christopher Chope MP
Christchurch
1
Nigel Farage
9Nigel Farage MP
Clacton
1
Ms Polly Billington
10Ms Polly Billington MP
East Thanet
1