FAMILY LAW Citation and commencement 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security and Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and, subject to paragraph (2), shall come into operation on 30th April 2002. 2 Regulations 2(3)( a ) and 6 shall come into operation in relation to a particular case on the day on which sections 1(2), 8, 9 and 10 of, and paragraphs 12 and 27 of Schedule 3 to, the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 come into operation for the purposes of that type of case. Amendment of the Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations 2 1 The Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3). 2 In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation) for the definition of “appropriate authority” there shall be substituted the following definition— “appropriate authority” means an authority administering housing benefit; . 3 In regulation 2(2) (persons under a duty to furnish information or evidence)— a after sub-paragraph ( a ) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph— aa where regulation 8(1) of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations applies (persons treated as non-resident parents), a parent of or a person who provides day to day care for the child in respect of whom a maintenance calculation has been applied for or has been treated as applied for or is or has been in force, with respect to the matter listed in sub-paragraph ( l ) of regulation 3(1); ; and b in sub-paragraph ( h ) — i in head (i) after “1981” there shall be inserted “, sections 97 to 99A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 ”, and ii in head (ii) after “under” there shall be inserted “the Prison Act 1952 ,” and after “1953” there shall be inserted “or the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 ”. Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 3 In the heading to regulation 31A of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (notification of intention to cancel a maintenance assessment) and in paragraph (1) for “16(4A)” there shall be substituted “16(5)”. Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 4 In regulation 9(1) of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (exempt income: calculation or estimation of E)— a in sub-paragraph ( e ) after head (ii) there shall be added the following head— iii if the parent were a claimant, the conditions in paragraph 13A of the relevant Schedule (income support enhanced disability premium) would be satisfied in respect of him, an amount equal to the amount specified in column (2) of paragraph 15(8)( b ) of that Schedule ; ; and b in sub-paragraph ( g ) after head (ii) there shall be added the following head— iii if the conditions set out in paragraph 13A of the relevant Schedule (income support enhanced disability premium) are satisfied in respect of that child, an amount equal to the amount specified in column (2) of paragraph 15(8)( a ) of that Schedule or, where paragraph (2) applies, half that amount; . Amendment of the Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations 5 In regulation 23(2) of the Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (assets capable of producing income or higher income) after sub-paragraph ( b ) there shall be added— ; or if the non-applicant were a claimant, paragraph 59 of Schedule 10 to the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (treatment of relevant trust payments) would apply to the asset referred to in that paragraph. . Amendment of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 6 1 The Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5). 2 In regulation 3A (revision of child support decisions)— a in paragraph (1)— i after sub-paragraph ( c ) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph— cc if an appeal is made under Article 22 of the Child Support Order against a decision within the time prescribed in regulation 31, or in a case to which regulation 32 applies within the time prescribed in that regulation, but the appeal has not been determined; ; and ii after sub-paragraph ( e ) there shall be added— ; or if the grounds for revision are that a person with respect to whom a maintenance calculation was made was not, at the time the calculation was made, a parent of a child to whom the calculation relates. ; b for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 3 In paragraphs (1), (2) and (5A) and in regulation 4(3) “decision” means a decision of the Department under Article 13, 14 or 43 of the Child Support Order , or a determination of an appeal tribunal on a referral under Article 28D(1)( b ) of that Order , or any supersession of a decision under Article 19 of that Order, whether as originally made or as revised under Article 18 of that Order. ; and c after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph— 5A Where— a the Department makes a decision (“decision A”) and there is an appeal; b there is a further decision in relation to the appellant (“decision B”) after the appeal but before the appeal results in a decision by an appeal tribunal (“decision C”); and c the Department would have made decision B differently if it had been aware of decision C at the time it made decision B, decision B may be revised at any time. . 3 In regulation 6B(4)( e ) (circumstances in which a child support decision may not be superseded) “, (19)” shall be omitted. 4 In regulation 7B (date from which a decision superseded under Article 19 of the Child Support Order takes effect)— a after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph— 1A Where a decision is superseded by a decision made by the Department in a case to which regulation 6A(2)( a ) or (3) applies and the relevant circumstance is that— a paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order applies, the decision shall take effect from the first day of the maintenance period on or after— i the date on which the non-resident parent becomes the partner of a non-resident parent, or ii where a maintenance calculation is first made in respect of the non-resident parent’s partner, the date on which that calculation takes effect for the purposes of the Child Support Order; or b paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order ceases to apply, the decision shall take effect from the first day of the maintenance period on or after the date on which— i the non-resident parent or his partner ceases to be a non-resident parent, or ii the non-resident parent ceases to be the partner of a non-resident parent. ; and b paragraph (19) shall be omitted. 5 In regulation 31(2) (time within which appeals are to be brought) after “regulation 3(1) or (3)” in both places where it occurs, there shall be inserted “or 3A(1)”. Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 7 1 The Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (8). 2 In regulation 1(1) (citation, commencement and interpretation) for “paragraph 27” there shall be substituted “paragraphs 12 and 27”. 3 After regulation 9 (period within which reasons are to be given) there shall be inserted the following regulation— Period for parent to state if request still stands 9A The period to be specified for the purposes of Article 43(6) of the Order (period for the parent to state if the request still stands) is 4 weeks from the date on which the Department serves notice under that paragraph. . 4 In regulation 25(1) (effective dates of maintenance calculations — maintenance order and application under Article 7) for sub-paragraph ( c ) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph— c there is a maintenance order which— i is in force and was made on or after the date prescribed for the purposes of Article 7(10)( a ) of the Order ; ii relates to the person with care, the non-resident parent and all the children to whom the application referred to in sub-paragraph ( b ) relates, and iii has been in force for at least one year prior to the date of the application referred to in sub-paragraph ( b ). . 5 In regulation 26(1) (effective dates of maintenance calculations — maintenance order and application under Article 9) in sub-paragraph ( c ) for “and the non-resident parent” there shall be substituted “, the non-resident parent and all the children to whom the application referred to in sub-paragraph ( b ) relates”. 6 In regulation 27( b ) (effective dates of maintenance calculations — maintenance order ceases) for “24 or 25” there shall be substituted “25 or 26”. 7 In regulation 28 (effective dates of maintenance calculations in specified cases) after paragraph ( b ) there shall be added the following paragraph— c except where the parent with care has made a request under Article 9(5) of the Order , where— i in the period of 8 weeks immediately preceding the date the application is made, or treated as made under regulation 3, a maintenance calculation (“the previous maintenance calculation”) has been in force and has ceased to have effect; ii the parent with care in respect of the previous maintenance calculation is the non-resident parent in respect of the application; iii the non-resident parent in respect of the previous maintenance calculation is the parent with care in respect of the application, and iv the application relates to the same qualifying child, or all of the same qualifying children, and no others, as the previous maintenance calculation, the effective date of the maintenance calculation to which the application relates shall be the date on which the previous maintenance calculation ceased to have effect. . 8 In regulation 30(3) (transitional provision — effective dates and reduced benefit decisions) for “on or before” there shall be substituted “immediately before”. Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 8 In the Schedule to the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (net weekly income)— a in paragraph 8(1) for “of the employment” there shall be substituted “in respect of employment which are of a type which would be taken into account under paragraph 7(1)”; b for paragraph 13 there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 13 1 Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), payments made by way of disabled person’s tax credit under section 128 of the Contributions and Benefits Act to a non-resident parent shall be treated as the income of the non-resident parent, at the rate payable at the effective date. 2 Where disabled person’s tax credit is payable where a non-resident parent and another person both meet the entitlement criteria for the payment and the amount which is payable has been calculated by reference to the weekly earnings of the non-resident parent and the other person— a where during the period which is used by the Inland Revenue to calculate the non-resident parent’s income the normal weekly earnings (as determined in accordance with Chapter II of Part V of the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 ) of that parent exceed those of the other person, the amount payable by way of disabled person’s tax credit shall be treated as the income of that parent; b where during that period the normal weekly earnings of that parent equal those of the other person, half of the amount payable by way of disabled person’s tax credit shall be treated as the income of that parent; and c where during that period the normal weekly earnings of that parent are less than those of that other person, the amount payable by way of disabled person’s tax credit shall not be treated as the income of that parent. 3 Where— a disabled person’s tax credit is in payment; and b not later than the effective date the person, or, if more than one, each of the persons by reference to whose entitlement that payment has been calculated is no longer the partner of the person to whom that payment is made, the payment shall only be treated as the income of the non-resident parent in question where he is in receipt of it. . Amendment of the Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 9 1 The Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (15). 2 In regulation 4 (revision, supersession and appeal of conversion decisions) for paragraph (4) there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 4 In their application to a decision referred to in these Regulations, the Decisions and Appeals Regulations shall be modified so as to provide— a on any revision or supersession of a conversion decision under Article 18 or 19 respectively of the Order, that— i the conversion decision may include a relevant departure direction or relevant property transfer, and ii the effective date of the revision or supersession shall be as determined under the Decisions and Appeals Regulations or the case conversion date, whichever is the later; b on any appeal in respect of a conversion decision under Article 18 or 19 respectively of the Order, that the time within which the appeal must be brought shall be— i within the time from the date of notification of the conversion decision against which the appeal is brought, to one month after the case conversion date of that decision, or ii as determined under the Decisions and Appeals Regulations, whichever is the later. . 3 In regulation 9 (amount of child support maintenance payable)— a in paragraph (1) for the words from “unless” to the end there shall be substituted— unless— regulation 10 applies, in which case it shall be a transitional amount as provided for in regulations 11 and 17 to 28; or regulation 12 or 13 applies, in which case it shall be a transitional amount as provided for in those regulations. ; and b in paragraph (2) for “regulations 10 to 28” there shall be substituted “regulations 10 to 14 and 16 to 28”. 4 In regulation 10 (circumstances in which a transitional amount is payable) after “reduced rate” there shall be inserted “, an amount calculated under regulation 22”. 5 In regulation 12 (transitional amount in flat rate cases)— a in paragraphs (1) and (2) at the end “, nil” shall be omitted; b in paragraph (3) for the words from “apportioned” to the end there shall be substituted “apportioned among the persons with care, other than any in respect of whom paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order applies, in accordance with paragraph 6(2) of that Schedule, unless paragraph (4) or (5) applies.”; c in paragraphs (4) and (5) after “paragraph 4(1)( b )” there shall be inserted “or ( c )”; d for paragraph (6) there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 6 Where paragraph (4) or (5) applies, the transitional amount shall be apportioned among the persons with care, other than any in respect of whom the former assessment amount is nil and paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order applies, in accordance with paragraph 6(2) of that Schedule. ; and e in paragraph (7) “in paragraph (5)” shall be omitted. 6 In regulation 13 (transitional amount — certain flat rate cases) the existing provision shall be numbered as paragraph (1) and after paragraph (1) there shall be added the following paragraph— 2 Where paragraph 4(1)( b ) or ( c ) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order applies and the former assessment amount is nil, the amount of child support maintenance payable for the year beginning on the case conversion date shall be a transitional amount equivalent to half the first prescribed amount and thereafter shall not be a transitional amount but shall be the new amount. . 7 In regulation 15(4) (case conversion date)— a for “paragraph (3)” there shall be substituted “this regulation”; and b before the definition of “relevant person” there shall be inserted the following definition— “maintenance assessment” has the meaning given in Article 2(2) of the former Order; . 8 In regulation 17 (relevant departure direction and relevant property transfer) for paragraph (6) there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 6 Where, but for the application of a relevant departure direction referred to in paragraph (5), the new amount would be— a the first prescribed amount owing to the application of paragraph 4(1)( b ) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order; b the amount referred to in sub-paragraph ( a ), but is less than that amount or is nil, owing to the application of paragraph 8 of Part I of that Schedule; or c the nil rate under paragraph 5( a ) of Part I of that Schedule, paragraph (5) applies where the amount of the additional income exceeds £100. . 9 In regulation 21(1) (effect on conversion calculation — relevant property transfer) for “regulation 23” there shall be substituted “regulations 23 and 23A”. 10 In regulation 22(1) (effect on conversion calculation — maximum amount payable where relevant departure direction is on additional cases ground) for “the amount of child support maintenance which the non-resident parent shall be liable to pay” there shall be substituted “the new amount”. 11 In regulation 23(2) (effect of relevant departure direction on conversion calculation — general) the words from “, other than” to “costs)” shall be omitted. 12 After regulation 23 there shall be inserted the following regulation— Effect of a relevant property transfer and a relevant departure direction — general 23A Where— a more than one relevant property transfer applies; or b one or more relevant property transfers and one or more relevant departure directions apply, regulation 23 shall apply as if references to a relevant departure direction were to a relevant property transfer or to the relevant property transfers and relevant departure directions, as the case may be. . 13 In regulation 24 (phasing amount)— a in paragraph (3) for “For” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (4), for”; and b after paragraph (3) there shall be added the following paragraph— 4 Where the new amount is calculated under regulation 22(1), “relevant income” for the purposes of paragraph (2) is the aggregate of the income calculated under regulation 22(1)( b ). . 14 In regulation 27 (subsequent decision with effect in transitional period — amount payable)— a in paragraph (3)( b ) after “new amount” there shall be inserted “and greater than the previous transitional amount”; b in paragraph (5)( b ) after “new amount” there shall be inserted “and less than the previous transitional amount”; and c in paragraph (6) for “or the nil rate” there shall be substituted “, would be the first prescribed amount or the second prescribed amount but is less than that amount, or is nil, owing to the application of paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order, or is the nil rate.”. 15 In regulation 28 (linking provisions)— a in paragraphs (1) and (2) for “Where” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (2A), where”; b after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph— 2A Paragraph (1) or (2) shall not apply where, before any application for a maintenance calculation of a type referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) is made or treated as made, an application for a maintenance calculation is made or treated as made in relation to either the person with care or the non-resident parent (but not both of them) to whom the maintenance assessment referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) related. ; c in paragraph (4)— i in sub-paragraph ( a ) for the words from “at the first” to the end there shall be substituted— at— i the first or second prescribed amount; ii what would be an amount referred to in head (i) but is less than that amount, or is nil, owing to the application of paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order, or iii the nil rate; and ; ii in sub-paragraph ( b ) for the words from “the first or second” to the end there shall be substituted “a rate referred to in sub-paragraph ( a )”; d in paragraph (5) for “Where” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (5A), where”; e after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph— 5A Paragraph (5) shall not apply where, before any second subsequent decision is made, an application for a maintenance calculation is made or treated as made in relation to either the person with care or the non-resident parent (but not both of them) to whom the first subsequent decision referred to in paragraph (4) related. ; f in paragraph (7) for “Where” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (7A), where” and for “an application for child support maintenance” there shall be substituted “an application for a maintenance calculation”; g after paragraph 7 there shall be inserted the following paragraph— 7A Paragraph (7) shall not apply where, before an application for a maintenance calculation of a type referred to in that paragraph is made or treated as made, an application for a maintenance calculation is made or treated as made in relation to either the person with care or the non-resident parent (but not both of them) to whom the conversion calculation referred to in that paragraph related. ; h in paragraph (8)— i for “Where” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (9), where”, and ii for sub-paragraph ( a ) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph— a a conversion calculation is in force, or pursuant to regulation 16(3) a maintenance calculation is in force, (“the calculation”) and the new amount— i is the first or second prescribed amount; ii would be an amount referred to in head (i), but is less than that amount, or is nil, owing to the application of paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Order, or iii is the nil rate; ; and i after paragraph (8) there shall be added the following paragraph— 9 Paragraph (8) shall not apply where, before a subsequent decision of a type referred to in paragraph (8)( b ) is made, an application for a maintenance calculation is made or treated as made in relation to the person with care or the non-resident parent (but not both of them) to whom the calculation relates. . Amendment of the Child Support (Variations) Regulations 10 1 The Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5). 2 In regulation 7 (prescribed circumstances)— a in paragraph (1) for “Article 28G” there shall be substituted “Article 28A or 28G”; and b in paragraph (7)— i after “agreed” there shall be inserted “and the application had been made under Article 28G of the Order”, and ii after “effect” there shall be inserted “and if the variation were agreed, and the application had been made under Article 28A of the Order, the decision under Article 13 of the Order would take effect”. 3 In regulation 16(4) (prescription of terms) for “£5,000” there shall be substituted “£4,999·99”. 4 In regulation 18 (assets)— a in paragraph (1)( a ) for “has the beneficial interest” there shall be substituted “has a beneficial interest”; b in paragraph (3)— i in sub-paragraph ( d ) at the beginning there shall be inserted “except where the asset is of a type specified in paragraph (2)( b ) and produces income which does not form part of the net weekly income of the non-resident parent as calculated or estimated under Part III of the Schedule to the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations,”, and ii after sub-paragraph ( e ) there shall be added— ; or where, were the non-resident parent a claimant, paragraph 22 (treatment of payments from certain trusts) or 59 (treatment of relevant trust payments) of Schedule 10 to the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 would apply to the asset referred to in that paragraph. ; c in paragraph (5) after “allowance” there shall be inserted “prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 4(1)( b ) of Schedule 1 to the Order”. 5 In regulations 19(5)( a ) (income not taken into account and diversion of income) and 20(5) (life-style inconsistent with declared income) after “allowance” there shall be inserted “prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 4(1)( b ) of Schedule 1 to the Order”. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 29th April 2002. John O'Neill Senior Officer of the Department for Social Development