The Child Benefit, Child Support and Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Amendment of the Child Benefit Rates Regulations

2.—(1) The Child Benefit Rates Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In regulation 2 (weekly rates of child benefit)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) “paragraph (2) of this regulation and” shall be omitted, and

(ii) for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—

“(a) subject to paragraphs (2ZA) to (4)—

(i) in a case where in any week a child (not being a child to whom head (ii) applies) is the only child or, if not the only child, the elder or eldest child in respect of whom child benefit is payable to a person, £10·80, and

(ii) in a case where in any week that child is the only child or, if not the only child, the elder or eldest child of a lone parent in respect of whom child benefit is payable to a person, £17·10; and”;

(b) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a)(ii), “lone parent” means a person who is living with a child and, in any week, that person—

(a) either has—

(i) no spouse, or

(ii) is not residing with his spouse; and

(b) is not living with any other person as his spouse.”;

(c) in paragraph (2ZA)(1) after “paragraph (1)(a)” in both places where it occurs there shall be inserted “(i)”;

(d) in paragraph (2ZB) after “paragraph (1)(a)” there shall be inserted “(i) or (ii)”;

(e) for paragraph (2A)(2) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(2A) Subject to paragraph (2AB), a person who is residing with a parent of the child shall be entitled to the weekly rate of child benefit payable under paragraph (1)(a)(i) in respect of that child (“A”).

(2AB) Paragraph (2A) shall not apply where the person is also entitled to child benefit in respect of another child (“B”) for whom he is treated as responsible under section 139(1)(a) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and he is not residing with a parent of B, in which case he shall be entitled, in respect of A, to the weekly rate of child benefit payable under paragraph (1)(a)(ii).”; and

(f) in paragraph (4)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (a) for “paragraph (2) shall not apply” there shall be substituted “the weekly rate of child benefit specified in paragraph (1)(a)(i) shall be payable in respect of that child”,

(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) for “paragraph (2) of this regulation shall not apply to that child” there shall be substituted “the weekly rate of child benefit specified in paragraph (1)(a)(i) shall be payable in respect of that child”, and

(iii) for sub-paragraph (c) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—

“(c) in any week a person has been paid the weekly rate of child benefit for the time being specified in paragraph (1)(a)(ii) and that week is one throughout which that person subsequently becomes entitled to such an allowance or increase as is referred to in sub-paragraph (a), the amount corresponding to the difference between the weekly rates of child benefit for the time being specified in paragraph (1)(a)(i) and (ii) shall be treated as if it had been paid on account of any such allowance or increase payable in respect of that week.”.

(3) Regulation 4 (transitional provision for the purposes of regulation 2(2)) shall be omitted.

(1)

Paragraphs (2ZA) and (2ZB) were inserted by regulation 2(b) of S.R. 1991 No. 82

(2)

Paragraph (2A) was inserted by regulation 2(c) of S.R. 1980 No. 37