The Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations 2009

PART 1 General

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations 2009 and come into force on 25th January 2010.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991;

“a 1993 scheme case” means a case in respect of which the provisions of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000(1) have not been brought into force in accordance with article 3 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (Commencement No. 12) Order 2003(2);

“the AIMA Regulations” means the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations 1992(3);

“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations” means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999(4);

“non-resident parent” includes a person treated as a non-resident parent by virtue of regulations made under section 42 of the 1991 Act;

“relevant person” means—

(a)

a person with care;

(b)

a non-resident parent;

(c)

where the application for a maintenance calculation is made by a child under section 7 of the 1991 Act, that child,

in respect of whom a maintenance calculation is or has been in force.

(2) In the application of these Regulations to a 1993 scheme case, any reference to expressions in the 1991 Act (including “non-resident parent” and “maintenance calculation”) or to regulations made under that Act are to be read with the necessary modifications.

Arrears notices

3.—(1) This regulation applies to a case where—

(a) the Commission is arranging for the collection of child support maintenance under section 29 of the 1991 Act; and

(b) the non-resident parent has failed to make one or more payments of child support maintenance due.

(2) Where the Commission is considering taking action with regard to a case falling within paragraph (1) it must serve a notice on the non-resident parent.

(3) The notice must—

(a) itemize the payments of child support maintenance due and not paid;

(b) set out in general terms the provisions as to arrears contained in this regulation and regulation 8 of the AIMA Regulations(5); and

(c) request the non-resident parent make payment of all outstanding arrears.

(4) Where a notice has been served under paragraph (2), no duty to serve a further notice under that paragraph arises in relation to further arrears unless those further arrears have arisen after an intervening continuous period of not less than 12 weeks during the course of which all payments of child support maintenance due from the non-resident parent have been paid on time in accordance with regulations made under section 29 of the 1991 Act.

Attribution of payments

4.  Where a maintenance calculation is or has been in force and there are arrears of child support maintenance, the Commission may attribute any payment of child support maintenance made by a non-resident parent to child support maintenance due as it thinks fit.

(1)

2000 c. 19.

(2)

S.I. 2003/192 (C. 11).

(3)

S.I. 1992/1816.

(4)

S.I. 1999/991.

(5)

Regulation 8 was substituted by S.I. 1995/3261 and amended by S.I. 1996/1345 and 2001/162. References to the Secretary of State in that regulation are treated as references to the Commission by virtue of paragraph 55(3) of Schedule 3 to the 2008 Act, as the function of the Secretary of State was transferred to the Commission by section 13 of that Act.