The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992, the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) and the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”). They also make transitional provisions.

Regulation 2 amends the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992. Regulation 7 of those Regulations is omitted in consequence of the changes made by regulations 3(2) and (3).

Regulation 3 amends the 1992 Regulations:

• paragraph (2) inserts a new paragraph (3A) into regulation 20 of the 1992 Regulations to provide a ground for superseding a decision where a maintenance assessment has ceased by virtue of paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48) (“the Act”) or where the Commission has no jurisdiction by virtue of section 44 of the Act;

• paragraph (3) inserts a new paragraph (21A) into regulation 23 of the 1992 Regulations to provide that the day on which a decision made on the ground in new regulation 20(3A) of the 1992 Regulations takes effect, is the first day of the maintenance period in which the specified material change of circumstances occurred;

• paragraph (4)(a) substitutes paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the 1992 Regulations. The new paragraph 1 of that Schedule provides the prescribed conditions for the purposes of section 55(1)(c) of the Act and inserts a new paragraph 1A into that Schedule to provide that, where a person ceases to fall within section 55(1) of the Act, a person is to be treated as continuing to fall within that subsection for any period during which that person is a person in respect of whom child benefit is payable, this is subject to the absolute bar in section 55(8) of the Act;

• paragraph (4)(b) substitutes paragraph 2 of that Schedule prescribing the meaning of “advanced education” for the purposes of section 55 of the Act, the substituted paragraph mirrors the definition in regulation 1(3) of the Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2006;

• paragraph 4(c) substitutes paragraph 4(2) of that Schedule to provide that paragraph 4(1) of that Schedule (circumstances in which interruptions in full-time education are not taken into account) does not apply where a period of interruption to a person’s full-time education is followed immediately by a period during which child benefit ceases to be payable in respect of that person;

• paragraph 4(d) omits paragraph 5 of that Schedule. The provisions are otiose as a result of the amendments made by these Regulations inserting paragraph 1A into that Schedule as equivalent provision is made in respect of child benefit by regulation 7 of the Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2006;

• paragraph 4(e) substitutes the interpretation provision at paragraph 6 of that Schedule to reflect the amendments made by these Regulations.

Regulation 4 makes amendments to Schedule 1 to the 2000 Regulations. These amendments have the same effect as those made by regulation 3(4) amending Schedule 1 to the 1992 Regulations.

Regulation 5 makes transitional provision. Paragraphs (1) and (2) provide that the day on which certain maintenance assessments or maintenance calculations made on an application under section 4 or 7 of the Act or on a supersession decision made under section 17 of that Act are to take effect is the day on which regulation 5 comes into force, in specified circumstances. Paragraph (3) modifies regulation 28(3) of the Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2000 (linking provisions) where an application made under section 4 or 7 of the Act in a case to which the circumstances in regulation 5(2) of these Regulations apply, to change the meaning of “the relevant period” for the purposes of regulation 28(1) of those Regulations.

A full impact assessment has not been published for this instrument as it has no impact on the private or voluntary sectors.