2.—(1) Any person who applies for a maintenance assessment under section 4 or 7 of the Act shall do so on a form (a “maintenance application form ”) provided by the Secretary of State.
(2) Maintenance application forms provided by the Secretary of State under section 6 of the Act or under paragraph (1) shall be supplied without charge by such persons as the Secretary of State appoints or authorises for that purpose.
(3) A completed maintenance application form shall be given or sent to the Secretary of State.
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), an application for a maintenance assessment under the Act shall be an effective application if it is made on a maintenance application form and that form has been completed in accordance with the Secretary of State’s instructions.
(5) Where an application is not effective under the provisions of paragraph (4), the Secretary of State may—
(a)give or send the maintenance application form to the person who made the application, together, if he thinks appropriate, with a fresh maintenance application form, and request that the application be re-submitted so as to comply with the provisions of that paragraph; or
(b)request the person who made the application to provide such additional information or evidence as the Secretary of State specifies,
and if a completed application form or, as the case may be, the additional information or evidence requested is received by the Secretary of State within 14 days of the date of his request, he shall treat the application as made on the date on which the earlier or earliest application would have been treated as made had it been effective under the provisions of paragraph (4).
(6) Subject to paragraph (7), a person who has made an effective application may amend his application by notice in writing to the Secretary of State at any time before a maintenance assessment is made.
(7) No amendment under paragraph (6) shall relate to any change of circumstances arising after the effective date of a maintenance assessment resulting from an effective application.
3.—(1) Where a maintenance assessment has been in force with respect to a person with care and a qualifying child and that person is replaced by another person with care, an application for a maintenance assessment with respect to that person with care and that qualifying child may for the purposes of regulation 30(2)(b)(ii) and subject to paragraph (3) be treated as having been received on a date earlier than that on which it was received.
(2) Where a maintenance assessment has been made in response to an application by a child under section 7 of the Act and either—
(a)a child support officer cancels that assessment following a request from that child; or
(b)that child ceases to be a child for the purposes of the Act,
any application for a maintenance assessment with respect to any other children who were qualifying children with respect to the earlier maintenance assessment may for the purposes of regulation 30(2)(b)(ii) and subject to paragraph (3) be treated as having been received on a date earlier than that on which it was received.
(3) No application for a maintenance assessment shall be treated as having been received under paragraph (1) or (2) on a date—
(a)more than 8 weeks earlier than the date on which the application was received; or
(b)on or before the first day of the maintenance period in which the earlier maintenance assessment ceased to have effect.
4.—(1) The provisions of Schedule 2 shall apply in cases where there is more than one application for a maintenance assessment.
(2) The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule 2 relating to the treatment of two or more applications as a single application shall apply where no request is received for the Secretary of State to cease acting in relation to all but one of the applications.
(3) Where, under the provisions of paragraph 1, 2 or 3 of Schedule 2, two or more applications are to be treated as a single application, that application shall be treated as an application for a maintenance assessment to be made with respect to all of the qualifying children mentioned in the applications, and the effective date of that assessment shall be determined by reference to the earlier or earliest application.
5.—(1) Where an effective application for a maintenance assessment has been made the Secretary of State shall as soon as is reasonably practicable give notice in writing of that application to the relevant persons other than the applicant.
(2) The Secretary of State shall give or send to any person to whom notice has been given under paragraph (1) a form (a “maintenance enquiry form ”) and a written request that the form be completed and returned to him for the purpose of enabling the application for the maintenance assessment to be proceeded with.
(3) Where the person to whom notice is being given under paragraph (1) is an absent parent, that notice shall specify the effective date of the maintenance assessment if one is to be made, and set out in general terms the provisions relating to interim maintenance assessments.
6.—(1) Any person who has received a maintenance enquiry form given or sent under regulation 5(2) shall complete that form in accordance with the Secretary of State’s instructions and return it to the Secretary of State within 14 days of its having been given or sent.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a person who has returned a completed maintenance enquiry form may amend the information he has provided on that form at any time before a maintenance assessment is made by notifying the Secretary of State in writing of the amendments.
(3) No amendment under paragraph (2) shall relate to any change of circumstances arising after the effective date of any maintenance assessment made in response to the application in relation to which the maintenance enquiry form was given or sent.
7.—(1) Where the child support officer concerned is informed of the death of a qualifying child with respect to whom an application for a maintenance assessment has been made, he shall—
(a)proceed with the application as if it had not been made with respect to that child if he has not yet made an assessment;
(b)treat any assessment already made by him as not having been made if the relevant persons have not been notified of it and proceed with the application as if it had not been made with respect to that child.
(2) Where all of the qualifying children with respect to whom an application for a maintenance assessment has been made have died, and either the assessment has not been made or the relevant persons have not been notified of it, the child support officer shall treat the application as not having being made.