The Child Support(Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Interpretation

2.—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In this Order—:

  • “absent parent” has the meaning given in Article 4(2);

  • “adjudication officer” has the same meaning as in the benefit Acts;

  • “assessable income” has the meaning given in paragraph 5 of Schedule 1;

  • “benefit Acts” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Acts 1975 to 1991;

  • “child benefit” has the same meaning as in the Child Benefit (Northern Ireland) Order 1975(2);

  • “Chief Child Support Officer” has the meaning given in Article 15;

  • “child support appeal tribunal” means a tribunal appointed under Article 23;

  • “Child Support Commissioner” means a Child Support Commissioner for Northern Ireland appointed under section 23 of the Child Support Act 1991(3);

  • “child support maintenance” has the meaning given in Article 4(6);

  • “child support officer” has the meaning given in Article 15;

  • “deduction from earnings order” has the meaning given in Article 31(2);

  • “the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Services;

  • “disability living allowance” has the same meaning as in the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975(4);

  • “family credit” has the same meaning as in the benefit Acts;

  • “income support” has the same meaning as in the benefit Acts;

  • “interim maintenance assessment” has the meaning given in Article 14;

  • “liability order” has the meaning given in Article 33(2);

  • “maintenance agreement” has the meaning given in Article 11(1);

  • “maintenance assessment” means an assessment of maintenance made under this Order and, except in prescribed circumstances, includes an interim maintenance assessment;

  • “maintenance order” has the meaning given in Article 10(11);

  • “maintenance requirement” means the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 1;

  • “parent”, in relation to any child, means any person who is in law the mother or father of the child and, in the case of an illegitimate child, includes the father;

  • “parental responsibility”, as respects a particular child, means—

    (a)

    in the case of the parents of a legitimate child, or the mother of an illegitimate child, the rights and duties which by law each parent (or the mother, as the case may be) has in relation to the child, and

    (b)

    in any other case, the rights and duties which a person has in relation to the child as his guardian or by virtue of an order of a court giving him custody of the child (including actual or legal custody within the meaning of the Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980(5);

  • “person with care” has the meaning given in Article 4(3);

  • “prescribed”, except in Article 12(5), means prescribed by regulations made by the Department;

  • “qualifying child” has the meaning given in Article 4(1);

  • “statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(6).