National Insurance Act 1965

29 Guardian's allowance.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to section 42(1) thereof, a person shall be entitled to a guardian's allowance at the weekly rate specified in relation thereto in column 2 of Schedule 3 to this Act in respect of any child who is for the time being a child of his family if—

(a) the parents of the child are dead ; and

(b) one at least of the parents was an insured person.

(2) Regulations may modify paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing subsection in relation to cases where—

(a) a child has been adopted, or is illegitimate; or

(b) the marriage of a child's parents was terminated by divorce; or

(c) one of the child's parents is dead and the person claiming the allowance shows that he was at the date of the death unaware of, and has failed after all reasonable efforts to discover, the whereabouts of the other parent.

(3) Regulations may provide for the payment of guardian's allowance under this section in respect of a child as if both parents of the child were dead in cases where one parent is dead and the surviving parent is serving (or is to be treated in accordance with the regulations as serving) a sentence of imprisonment of not less than the prescribed length or of imprisonment for life, or is (or is to be so treated as being) in legal custody in any other prescribed circumstances; and any such regulations may include provision—

(a) for suspending payment of an allowance awarded by virtue of this subsection where the conviction, sentence or order in consequence of which it was awarded is subject to appeal, and for any matters arising from the decision of any such appeal; and

(b) for requiring sums paid by virtue of this subsection by way of guardian's allowance in respect of a child for a period during which one of the child's parents is alive to be repaid by that parent to the National Insurance Fund.

(4) Where subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section have been modified by virtue of subsection (2) of this section so as to make guardian's allowance payable in respect of a child not on the death of the child's parents but on the death of two persons who are not the child's parents or of whom one is not the child's parent, subsection (3) of this section shall apply as if those persons were the child's parents.

(5) In the case of a child who is a child of the family of a man and his wife, the wife only shall be entitled to a guardian's allowance, but subsections (2) to (6) of section 4 of the Family Allowances Act (which relate to the persons to receive an allowance under that Act payable in respect of such a child) shall apply in relation to a guardian's allowance as they apply in relation to an allowance under that Act.