PCS Terms and Conditions v2.5
Originally effective: 18 September 2026 · Updated: 3 October 2026.
Service operator: Right First Time UK Ltd · Company No. 17493370.
These terms apply to the Right First Time UK Parental Contribution Service (PCS) pilot. PCS is a voluntary private-arrangement service designed to help two participating parents discuss, agree, record and manage child-related contributions and practical communication.
1. Voluntary participation and service limits
PCS is not the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), a court, a government body or a regulated legal service. Creating an account or paying the annual PCS access cost does not itself create a child-contribution obligation.
A PCS contribution arrangement becomes active only when both participating parents separately accept the same proposal, including the amount, frequency and start date recorded in PCS. PCS does not backdate a new voluntary agreement before the agreed start date.
2. PCS cost and access
PCS costs £10 per year for each participating parent. The annual PCS cost is separate from child contributions and is not paid to the other parent as maintenance.
3. Contributions and proposals
The PCS calculator provides a pilot policy guide. It is not the statutory CMS calculator. Parents may use the guide as a starting point and may voluntarily agree another amount.
The current pilot starting points are £120 per month for one child, £240 total for two children and £340 maximum for three or more children. The three-or-more figure is a PCS pilot affordability cap, not a statement that additional children have no cost.
Parents should review the child’s ordinary needs, direct spending by each parent, shared care, relevant affordability considerations and any agreed variations before accepting a proposal.
4. Direct child spending and relevant evidence
Parents may consider significant direct spending when discussing a voluntary PCS arrangement, including school costs, medical costs, essential equipment, activities, travel and additional-needs costs. A parent should not unilaterally deduct an expense from an agreed contribution unless the parents have recorded a new agreement.
Childcare is treated separately under the PCS voluntary policy. Routine childcare is not included in the standard PCS guide amount. Each parent would normally meet childcare they arrange or require during their own care time unless both parents expressly agree to share a particular childcare cost. Any agreed childcare sharing should be recorded clearly. This PCS policy does not override a court order, CMS decision or other legally binding arrangement.
Where evidence is used, it should be relevant and proportionate to the issue. Parents should avoid unnecessary disclosure of medical, financial or third-party information.
5. Parent Communication and records
Where a family case has Parent Communication enabled, both parents can send child-focused messages and permitted files or images through PCS. Messages are timestamped and kept in chronological order as part of the PCS case record.
Sent messages are intentionally not editable or deletable by either parent. This protects the reliability of the communication history. If RFTUK later introduces safeguarding or moderation redaction, any administrative action should itself be recorded with who acted, when and why.
Parents must use PCS communication for practical child-related matters such as arrangements, handovers, school, health, agreed expenses and information relevant to the child or PCS agreement. It must not be used for threats, harassment, discriminatory abuse, impersonation, unlawful material or unnecessary disclosure of sensitive personal information.
Permitted attachments are subject to file type, size and security restrictions. Users must not upload executable files, malware or material they do not have a lawful reason to share.
6. Message safety pause and domestic abuse
If direct communication is unsafe because of domestic abuse, threats, harassment or another safety concern, either parent can activate the PCS case-level message safety pause. While any active safety pause exists, new direct PCS messages are disabled for both parents in that family case. Existing message history remains available.
The parent who activated their own safety pause can later lift that pause. One parent cannot remove the other parent’s active safety pause. PCS may keep an audit record of when the control was activated or lifted.
Activating a pause does not amount to a finding by PCS that domestic abuse occurred. PCS does not investigate criminal allegations or replace police, safeguarding, legal or specialist domestic-abuse services.
7. Respectful and child-focused use
Parents are expected to communicate factually and respectfully. Before sending, consider whether the message is about the child, whether it clearly explains the practical issue, and whether it proposes a reasonable next step where possible.
Do not retaliate to abuse or provocation through PCS. If a situation is escalating, use an appropriate safe route and report criminal or dangerous behaviour to the relevant authorities. PCS messaging is not an emergency or safeguarding service.
8. Changes and ending an arrangement
If circumstances change, parents should discuss and record a new proposal rather than silently changing the amount or payment pattern. A changed contribution should take effect from the new date both parents accept, subject to the PCS workflow.
Either parent remains free to consider mediation, independent legal advice or CMS where eligible. Leaving PCS does not erase the historical records already legitimately created while the service was being used.
9. Accuracy, security and account use
Each user is responsible for keeping their login details secure and for providing information they reasonably believe to be accurate. Users must not access another parent’s account or attempt to view a family case to which they are not a party.
RFTUK may restrict or suspend access where reasonably necessary to protect users, data, service security or the integrity of the pilot, while preserving relevant audit records.
10. Service analytics and account activity
RFTUK may use privacy-minimised first-party analytics to understand whether PCS is working properly and which parts of the service are used. Public traffic statistics use a daily rotating pseudonymous visitor identifier. When a parent is signed in, PCS may record the account ID, the page or tool used and the date/time.
PCS analytics do not copy message contents, agreement/evidence contents, form values, bank/card details or arbitrary search/query text into the analytics table. See the PCS Privacy Information for further details.
11. Legal status of private arrangements
A normal private PCS arrangement is not automatically the same as a statutory CMS assessment or court order. Parents who need advice on legal enforceability should obtain independent legal advice. Where eligible, either parent may consider using CMS.
12. Accessibility and service concerns
PCS aims to present information in clear language. Parents who need help understanding or accessing PCS information may ask Right First Time UK about reasonable accessibility support. Technical, privacy or service concerns can also be raised with RFTUK through its published contact route.