My friend has called me today to ask if I can help her find out the answer to this issue and I am not getting very far looking online.
She gets child maintenance from her ex and, although she went through the CMS initially, they came to an agreement and he pays her directly each month.
He has another child that he lives with and this child has recently been diagnosed with ASD and is now receiving DLA. Her ex has now advised her that his wife is applying for carer's allowance and that, if this is awarded, his payments to her will go down to £7 per week.
I have looked online and found that it does say the paying parent will only pay the flat rate of £7 per week if they or their partner is receiving carer's allowance. Does anyone have any experience of this? I dont even know if she's entitled to carer's allowance so it may never happen but I am just trying to help her get as much information as possible as she is panicking.