The Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2003

PART 4 Exclusions and priority

Exclusion from child benefit of children aged 16 but under the age of 19 who are receiving advanced education or training under a relevant training programme

9.  For the purposes of section 144(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act and section 140(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (child benefit not payable by virtue of section 142(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act or section 138(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act in such cases as may be prescribed), the prescribed cases are where—

(a) the child is receiving advanced education; or

(b) training is being provided for the child under a relevant training programme and an allowance is payable under that programme to that child.

Exclusion from child benefit where certain financial support is payable to the child

10.  For the purposes of section 144(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act and section 140(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (child benefit is not payable by virtue of section 142(1)(c) of the Contributions and Benefits Act or section 138(1)(c) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act in such cases as may be prescribed), the prescribed cases are where for any week—

(a) income support;

(b) income-based jobseeker’s allowance within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995 or Article 3(4) of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

(c) incapacity benefit by virtue of being a person to whom section 30A(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act(1) or section 30A(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act(2) applies;

(d) payments made under section 4 of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 or Article 16 of the Industrial Training (Northern Ireland) Order 1984; or

(e) tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002,

is payable to the child.

Employed trainees

11.—(1) For the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (child receiving education by virtue of his employment or of any office held by him), the specified circumstances in which—

(a) a child is not for any week to be treated as receiving education by virtue of his employment or any office held by him, are circumstances where that week begins in what has been or is likely to be a continuous period of not less than 6 months in respect of which that child receives no financial support by virtue of his employment or any office held by him;

(b) a child is for any week to be treated as receiving education by virtue of his employment or of any office held by him, are circumstances where in consideration of that education, that child receives financial support in respect of that week by virtue of his employment or any office held by him.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “financial support” does not include any reimbursement of the cost of books, equipment, tuition, examination fees, travelling expenses or contributions under the Social Security Act.

Child living with another person as his spouse

12.—(1) Except in the circumstances specified in paragraph (2), child benefit is not payable to any person in respect of a child for any week in which that child is living with another person as his spouse (referred to in this regulation as “the partner”).

(2) The specified circumstances are that—

(a) the person to whom child benefit is payable is not the partner of that child; and

(b) the partner of that child is receiving full-time education.

Married child

13.  A person is not disentitled to child benefit in respect of a married child by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act or paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (unless regulations otherwise provide no person to be entitled to child benefit in respect of a married child) if—

(a) that person is not the spouse of that child; and

(b) that child is not residing with his spouse or, if he is, the spouse is receiving full-time education.

Prescribed manner of making an election under Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act

14.—(1) The prescribed manner of making an election under Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (any election under that Schedule to be made in the prescribed manner) is by giving notice in writing to the Board at an appropriate office on a form approved by the Board or in such other manner being in writing as the Board may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case or class of cases.

(2) An election is not effective to confer entitlement to child benefit in respect of a child for any week earlier than the week following that in which it is made if the earlier week is one in respect of which child benefit has been paid in respect of that child and has not been required to be repaid or voluntarily repaid or recovered.

(3) An election may be superseded by a subsequent election made in accordance with this regulation.

Modification of priority between persons entitled to child benefit

15.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a person entitled to child benefit in respect of a child in priority to another person gives the Board notice in writing at an appropriate office that he does not wish to have such priority, the provisions of the Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and Schedule 10 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (priority between persons entitled) have effect with the modification that that person does not have such priority.

(2) A notice under paragraph (1)—

(a) ceases to have effect if the said person makes a further claim to child benefit in respect of the said child;

(b) is not effective in relation to any week for which child benefit in respect of the said child is paid to the said person or to a person on his behalf.

Children in detention, care etc.

16.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) below, paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act do not apply to disentitle a person to child benefit in respect of a child for any week—

(a) unless that week is the 9th or a subsequent week in a series of consecutive weeks in which either of those paragraphs has applied to that child; or

(b) notwithstanding paragraph (a), if—

(i) that week is one in which falls the first day in a period of seven consecutive days in which the child lives with that person for at least a part of the first day and throughout the following six days;

(ii) that week is one in which falls the first day in a period of seven consecutive days throughout which the child lives with that person, being a period of seven consecutive days which immediately follows either a similar period of seven consecutive days or the period of seven consecutive days referred to in head (i) above;

(iii) that week is one in which falls the day, or the first day in a period of less than seven consecutive days, throughout which the child lives with that person, being a day or days which immediately follow the period of seven consecutive days referred to in head (i) above or a period of seven consecutive days referred to in head (ii), or

(iv) as at that week that person establishes that he is a person with whom the child ordinarily lives throughout at least one day in each week.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person shall not be regarded as having a child living with him throughout any day or week unless he actually has that child living with him throughout that day or week.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply—

(a) in Great Britain, for any day in any week in which a child is placed by a local authority in the home of any person in accordance with the provisions of—

(i) the Arrangements for Placements of Children (General) Regulations 1991(3);

(ii) the Arrangements to Look After Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996(4);

(iii) the Foster Placement (Children) Regulations 1991(5); or

(iv) the Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996(6),

and that local authority is making a payment in respect of either the child’s accommodation or maintenance or both under section 23 of the 1989 Act or under section 26 of the 1995 Act;

(b) in Northern Ireland, for any day in any week in which a child is placed by an authority in the home of any person in accordance with the provisions of the Foster Placement (Children) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(7) and the authority has a duty to provide accommodation and maintenance for the child under the Arrangements for Placement of Children (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(8).

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply in respect of any child who—

(a) is being looked after by a local authority or authority; and

(b) has been placed for adoption by that authority in the home of a person proposing to adopt him,

provided that the local authority or authority is making a payment in respect of either the child’s accommodation or maintenance or both, under section 23 of the 1989 Act, under section 26 of the 1995 Act or under Article 27 of the Children Order.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), placing for adoption means placing for adoption in accordance with the Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983(9), the Adoption Agencies (Scotland) Regulations 1984(10), or the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989(11).

Child undergoing imprisonment or detention in legal custody

17.—(1) For the purposes of paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act, a child is not regarded as undergoing imprisonment or detention in legal custody in any week unless—

(a) in connection with a charge brought or intended to be brought against him in criminal proceedings at the conclusion of those proceedings, or

(b) in the case of default of payment of a sum adjudged to be paid on conviction, in respect of such default,

a court imposes a penalty upon him.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act do not apply to a child in respect of any week in which that child is liable to be detained in a hospital or similar institution in Great Britain or Northern Ireland as a person suffering from a mental disorder.

(3) Subject to paragraph (5), paragraph (2) does not apply where subsequent to the imposition of a penalty, the child was removed to the hospital or similar institution while still liable to be detained as a result of the said penalty and, in the case of a person who is liable to be detained in the hospital or similar institution by virtue of any provisions of the Mental Health Acts, a direction restricting his discharge has been given under any of those Acts and is still in force.

(4) In paragraph (3) a person who is liable to be detained by virtue of any provision of the Mental Health Acts shall be treated as if a direction restricting his discharge had been given under those Acts if he is to be so treated for the purposes of any of them.

(5) Where a certificate given by or on behalf of the Secretary of State shows the earliest date on which the child would have been expected to be discharged from detention pursuant to the penalty if he had not been transferred to a hospital or similar institution, paragraph (3) shall not apply from the day following that date.

Child in care in such circumstances as may be prescribed

18.  For the purposes of paragraph 1(c) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act and paragraph 1(c) of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (child in care in such circumstances as may be prescribed), the prescribed circumstances are circumstances where—

(a) the child is provided with, or placed in, accommodation under Part 3 of the 1989 Act, under Part 2 of the 1995 Act or under Part 4 of the Children Order and the cost of that child’s accommodation or maintenance is borne wholly or partly out of local authority funds, authority funds or any other public funds, and

(b) the child is not in residential accommodation in the circumstances prescribed in regulation 3.

Interpretation of facts existing in a week

19.  Where paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits Act or paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 to the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act applies, section 147(2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act and section 143(2) of the Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act (references to any condition being satisfied or any facts existing in a week to be construed as references to the condition being satisfied or the facts existing at the beginning of that week) has effect as if the words “at the beginning of that week” were substituted by “throughout any day in that week”.

(1)

Section 30A was inserted by section 1(1) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c. 18) and amended by section 64 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c. 30).

(2)

Section 30A was inserted by Article 1(1) of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (N.I.) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/1898 (N.I. 12)) and amended by Article 61(1) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (N.I.) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)).

(3)

S.I. 1991/890.

(4)

S.I. 1996/3262 (S. 252).

(5)

S.I. 1991/910

(6)

S.I. 1996/3263 (S. 253).

(7)

S.R. 1996 No. 467.

(8)

S.R. 1996 No. 453.

(9)

S.I. 1983/1964.

(10)

S.I. 1984/988.

(11)

S.R. 1989 No. 253.