The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations provide for the amendment of various sets of Regulations relating to child support:

• the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations”);

• the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations”);

• the Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Departure Direction Regulations”);

• the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations”);

• the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations”);

• the Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Transitional Regulations”); and

• the Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Variations Regulations”).

Regulation 1 makes provision for citation and commencement.

Regulations 2(2), (4)(b) and (f) and (5)(b) and (f), 3(2)(a) to (d), (3) and (5), 5(2), (3)(b) and (f) and (4)(b) and (f) and 6(2)(a) to (c) and (e) and (4) amend, respectively, the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations, the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations, the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations and the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations in consequence of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. The amendments will take effect from the date Articles 10 and 11 of that Order come into operation.

Regulations 2(3), 3(2)(e), (4) and (7)(a) and 4 amend, respectively, the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations, the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations and the Departure Direction Regulations in consequence of the introduction of state pension credit.

Regulations 2(4)(a) and (5)(a) and 5(3)(a) and (4)(a) make minor drafting amendments to the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations and the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations.

Regulations 2(4)(c) to (e) and (5)(c) to (e) and 5(3)(c) to (e) and (4)(c) to (e) amend, respectively, the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations and the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations in consequence of the abolition of the residential allowance in income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulations 3(6) and (7)(b) and (d) and 6(2)(g) and (3) amend, respectively, the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations and the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations to provide for a war widower’s pension to be treated for child support purposes in the same way as a war widow’s pension and for the treatment for child support purposes of specific payments for war widows and widowers.

Regulation 3(7)(c) amends the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations in consequence of the Housing Support Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R. 2003 No. 172) (which prescribe the persons eligible for payment of grants for housing support services).

Regulation 6 amends the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations. Regulation 6(2)(d) amends the definition of “occupational pension scheme” and regulation 6(2)(f) substitutes the definition of “training allowance”. Regulation 6(5) amends the provision for cases where a non-resident parent is liable to pay child support maintenance as well as child maintenance under a court order in respect of a different child.

Regulation 7 amends the Transitional Regulations. Regulation 7(2) and (6) amends provisions in respect of the “maximum transitional amount”, which is the most a non-resident parent can be required to pay in child support maintenance, to make provision for cases where regulation 22 of the Transitional Regulations or regulation 26 of the Variations Regulations applies. Regulation 7(3) amends regulation 7(g)(ii) of the Transitional Regulations to link the ground set out in that provision to the making of an application for a variation in relation to the same transfer of capital or property as has been taken into account as a “relevant property transfer” in the conversion decision. Regulation 7(4) amends the Transitional Regulations to ensure that a relevant property transfer and a variation cannot be in force at the same time in relation to the same property or capital transfer. Regulation 7(5) and (7) amends, respectively, regulations 24 and 27 of the Transitional Regulations to make provision for cases where a subsequent decision is made.

Regulation 8 makes an amendment to the Variations Regulations in consequence of the amendment made by regulation 7(4).

Regulation 9 makes savings provisions in respect of the amendments made by regulations 2(2), (4) and (5) and 5.

Regulation 10 makes consequential revocations.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.