1. Create your account
Each parent has their own secure PCS account. The cost to use PCS is £10 per parent, per year.
PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST
How PCS works
PCS gives parents a clear, voluntary way to agree contributions, record arrangements and keep useful information together without turning every practical issue into a dispute.
2. Link the two parents
A PCS case connects the two participating parents so they can work from the same agreement, records and case reference.
3. Work out a contribution
Parents can use the PCS guide calculator as a starting point, consider shared care and direct child costs, and then discuss a figure they can both accept.
4. Record the agreement
PCS records the amount, frequency, start date and later versions so both parents can see what was agreed and when it changed.
5. Keep useful records
Contribution and payment records can be kept together. PCS is moving first to direct parent-to-parent bank payments, with downloadable histories and statements.
6. Review when life changes
Parents can make a new proposal when care, income, costs or other circumstances change instead of silently changing the arrangement.
7. Use child-focused communication
PCS Messages are for practical child-related communication. Parents are encouraged to use facts, dates, one clear request at a time and avoid insults, threats or retaliation.
8. Use the safety pause if needed
If direct messages are unsafe because of domestic abuse or another safety concern, either parent can pause PCS direct messages for that case. Existing records remain available and the parent can use specialist or official support instead.
£120, £240 and the £340 cap
For the current pilot, the standard monthly starting points are £120 for one child, £240 total for two children and a £340 monthly maximum for three or more children.
PCS's own planning work has used a broad benchmark of around £110,000–£115,000 from birth to age 18 for selected ordinary/direct child costs. That works out at roughly £509–£532 per month averaged across childhood. PCS does not say that one parent should transfer half of that amount, because both parents may already meet substantial costs directly, care arrangements differ and a transfer is only one part of supporting a child.
How PCS arrived at the guide: our simplified planning model looked at ordinary child costs such as food, clothing, school, transport, health, activities, technology and everyday personal items. It deliberately does not load the full cost of paid childcare, major housing upgrades or higher discretionary lifestyle assumptions into the basic PCS contribution figure.
Child Benefit in the modelAcross childhood, our earlier modelling used roughly £24,000–£25,000 of Child Benefit as an illustrative child-specific contribution to household resources. Actual rates change over time.
Universal Credit child elementWhere a household is eligible throughout, our earlier modelling used roughly £60,000–£65,000 over childhood. Not every household qualifies and actual entitlement can change.
Illustrative amount leftAgainst a £110,000–£115,000 ordinary-cost benchmark, those illustrative supports leave roughly £20,000–£31,000 to be met from parents' own resources. PCS therefore uses about £30,000 total, or around £15,000 each parent over childhood, as a simple planning reference before care patterns and direct spending are considered.
Why £340 is cappedThe three-or-more-child cap is a PCS pilot affordability safeguard so the guide does not simply multiply without limit. Parents can still voluntarily agree a different amount.
Important: this is a PCS planning model, not a benefits entitlement calculation. Universal Credit and Child Benefit depend on eligibility, household circumstances and changing rates. PCS does not assume every family receives the same support.
Why PCS does not include routine childcare in the basic figure
Some published child-cost estimates are much higher because they include substantial paid childcare, broader housing assumptions or a wider minimum-living-standard basket. PCS treats routine childcare separately because it can be created by one parent's working hours, training, personal schedule or care arrangements and may be completely different in the two homes.
As a PCS voluntary policy, each parent would normally meet the childcare they arrange or need during their own care time. The other parent would meet their own childcare where they need it. A specific childcare cost can still be shared where both parents expressly agree that it should be shared, and that agreement should be recorded in PCS. This is a PCS approach for voluntary arrangements, not a statement of statutory law or a replacement for a court or CMS decision.
Direct spending still countsFood, clothes, travel, school, activities, health, additional-needs items and other ordinary costs may already be paid directly by either parent.
Childcare is separateRoutine childcare is not built into the PCS baseline. Each parent normally meets the childcare they require in their own care time unless both parents agree otherwise.
Shared care mattersThe amount can be discussed alongside the real care pattern rather than assuming every family has the same arrangement.
Keep it affordableThe aim is a contribution that supports the child and can realistically be maintained rather than an inflated figure that increases the risk of missed payments and conflict.
Check the whole arrangement, not just the number
Before accepting a PCS proposal, both parents should be able to answer the practical questions below. This helps reduce later misunderstandings.
- Which child or children does the arrangement cover?
- What is the amount, payment frequency and start date?
- What important costs is each parent already paying directly?
- Has the real shared-care pattern been considered?
- Are there substantial travel costs linked to the child’s care or contact?
- Are disability, health or additional-support costs relevant?
- When will the arrangement be reviewed, especially if it is temporary?
Use a new proposal rather than an unexplained change
Job loss, serious illness, bereavement, homelessness, a family emergency or a domestic-abuse relocation can make an existing arrangement temporarily unworkable. Where communication is safe, record when circumstances changed, explain the practical problem, propose a temporary or revised arrangement and set a review date.
PCS keeps earlier versions so a later change does not erase what the parents previously agreed.
Keep evidence focused on the issue
Where something is disputed, useful records can include an agreed care calendar, parenting agreement or court order, relevant school information, travel tickets or receipts, and documents directly connected with disability or additional-support costs. Only upload information that is genuinely relevant; avoid unnecessary medical, financial or third-party information.