
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), shall come into operation on 17th March 2005.
(2) Regulation 4 shall come into operation, for the purposes of any type of case which is not one in relation to which 3rd March 2003 is the day appointed for the coming into operation of section 1(2)(a) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000, on the day on which that provision comes into operation in relation to that type of case.
(3) Regulation 8(2), (4), (5) and (6) shall come into operation on 6th April 2005.
2 

(1) The Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).
(2) In regulation 1(2) (commencement, citation and interpretation) –
(a) after the definition of “effective date” there shall be inserted the following definition –“
 “family” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;”; and
(b) after the definition of “the parent concerned” there shall be inserted the following definition –“
 “partner” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;”.
(3) In regulation 8 (categories of interim maintenance assessment) paragraph (4) shall be omitted.
(4) In regulation 19(3) (supersession of decisions) after “where paragraph (8) applies,” there shall be inserted “but subject to regulation 22(22),”.
(5) In regulation 22 (date from which a superseding decision takes effect) after paragraph (20) there shall be added the following paragraphs –“
(21) Where a superseding decision is made in a case to which regulation 19(2)(a) or (3) applies, and the relevant circumstance is that a person has ceased to be a person with care in relation to a qualifying child in respect of whom the maintenance assessment was made, the decision shall take effect from the first day of the maintenance period in which that person ceased to be that person with care in relation to that qualifying child.
(22) Regulation 20 shall not apply where a superseding decision is made under regulation 19(3) in the circumstances set out in paragraph (19) or (21).”.
3 

(1) The Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).
(2) In Schedule 1 (calculation of N and M) –
(a) in paragraph 2A(3)(a) for “equivalent to any personal allowance” there shall be substituted “calculated as if it were equivalent to any personal allowance which would be”; and
(b) in paragraph 3(5)(a) for “equivalent to any personal allowance” there shall be substituted “calculated as if it were equivalent to any personal allowance which would be”.
(3) In Schedule 2 (amounts to be disregarded when calculating or estimating N and M) –
(a) after paragraph 18 there shall be inserted the following paragraph –“
18A. 
Subject to paragraph 20, and to the extent that it does not exceed £10·00, a payment made in respect of a parent under a scheme mentioned in section 1(2) of the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004 (compensation schemes for armed and reserve forces).”;
(b) in paragraph 20 for “18 and 19(1)”, wherever it occurs, there shall be substituted “18 to 19(1)”; and
(c) in paragraph 25 for the words from “a scheme approved” to “allowances to adopters)” there shall be substituted “any regulations made under Article 59A or pursuant to Article 59A(6) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (permitted allowances)”.
(4) In Schedule 4 (cases where child support maintenance is not to be payable) in paragraph (b) –
(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (ix) the word “and” shall be omitted; and
(b) after sub-paragraph (ix) there shall be added the following sub-paragraph –“
(x) the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004; and”.
4 
After regulation 8 of the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (maintenance calculations and maintenance orders made in error) there shall be inserted the following regulation –“
8A. 
Where –
(a) a maintenance calculation has been made with respect to a qualifying child in response to an application made under Article 7 of the Order;
(b) at the time that maintenance calculation was made a maintenance order was in force with respect to that child;
(c) the maintenance order has ceased to have effect by virtue of the provisions of regulation 3; and
(d) the non-resident parent had made payments of maintenance due under that order after the date on which the maintenance calculation took effect in accordance with regulation 25 of the Maintenance Calculation Procedure Regulations,the payments made under the maintenance order shall be treated as payments of child support maintenance.”.
5 
Regulation 10 of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (circumstances in which a reduced benefit decision shall not be given) shall be renumbered as paragraph (1) of that regulation and after that paragraph there shall be added the following paragraph –“
(2) In paragraph (1)(c) “family” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations.”.
6 

(1) The Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).
(2) In regulation 4(1) (flat rate) –
(a) after sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) the word “and” shall be omitted; and
(b) after sub-paragraph (f) there shall be added –“
 ; and
(g) a payment under a scheme mentioned in section 1(2) of the Armed Forces (Pensions and Compensation) Act 2004 (compensation schemes for armed and reserve forces).”.
(3) After regulation 5(1)(gg) (nil rate) there shall be inserted “or”.
(4) In regulation 11(1) (non-resident parent liable to pay maintenance under a maintenance order) for the words after “pay maintenance” there shall be substituted –“
 for that child –
(i) under a maintenance order;
(ii) in accordance with the terms of an order made by a court outside Northern Ireland, or
(iii) under the legislation of a jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom,that case shall be treated as a special case for the purpose of the Order.”.
(5) In the Schedule (net weekly income) in paragraph 7(4)(a) for “equivalent to any personal allowance” there shall be substituted “calculated as if it were equivalent to any personal allowance which would be”.
7 
In regulation 27 of the Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (subsequent decision with effect in transitional period – amount payable) –
(a) after paragraph (7) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs –“
(7A) This paragraph applies where –
(a) paragraph (1) applies and at the date of the subsequent decision there is more than one person with care in relation to the same non-resident parent; and
(b) as a result of the subsequent decision there is one person with care in relation to that non-resident parent.
(7B) Where paragraph (7A) applies, the amount payable to a person with care in respect of whom the amount payable is calculated by reference to a phasing amount shall be determined by applying paragraphs (1) to (5) as if references to –
(a) the new amount and the transitional amount were to the apportioned part of the amount in question which had been payable immediately prior to the subsequent decision to the person with care in respect of whom the subsequent decision is made; and
(b) the subsequent decision amount were to the full amount payable under the subsequent decision.”; and
(b) in paragraph (8), for “paragraph (7)” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (7) and (7B)”.
8 

(1) The Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).
(2) In regulation 6(2)(b)(iii) (rejection of an application following preliminary consideration) after “regulation 19(1)” there shall be inserted “or (1A)”.
(3) In regulation 11 (special expenses – illness or disability of relevant other child) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –“
(3) Where, at the date on which the non-resident parent makes the variation application –
(a) he or a member of his household has received, or at that date is in receipt of, or where he or the member of his household will receive any financial assistance from any source in respect of the long-term illness or disability of the relevant other child; or
(b) a disability living allowance is received by the non-resident parent or the member of his household on behalf of the relevant other child,
only the net amount of the costs incurred in respect of the items listed in paragraph (1), after the deduction of the financial assistance or the amount of the allowance, shall constitute special expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B to the Order.”.
(4) In regulation 18(3) (assets) for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph –“
(a) where the total value of the assets referred to in that paragraph does not exceed £65,000 after deduction of –
(i) the amount owing under any mortgage or charge on those assets;
(ii) the value of any asset in respect of which income has been taken into account under regulation 19(1A);”.
(5) In regulation 19 (income not taken into account and diversion of income) –
(a) after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph –“
(1A) Subject to paragraph (2), a case shall constitute a case for the purposes of paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 4B to the Order where –
(a) the non-resident parent has the ability to control the amount of income he receives from a company or business, including earnings from employment or self-employment; and
(b) the Department is satisfied that the non-resident parent is receiving income from that company or business which would not otherwise fall to be taken into account under the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations.”;
(b) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –“
(2) Paragraphs (1) and (1A) shall apply where –
(a) the income referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is net weekly income of over £100;
(b) the income referred to in paragraph (1A)(b) is over £100; or
(c) the aggregate of the net weekly income referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and the income referred to in sub-paragraph (b) is over £100,
as the case may be.”;
(c) in paragraph (4)(b) –
(i) after “Regulations” there shall be inserted “or paragraph (1A)”, and
(ii) the words “in order to reduce his liability to pay child support maintenance” shall be omitted; and
(d) in paragraph (5) –
(i) after sub-paragraph (a) the word “and” shall be omitted, and
(ii) after sub-paragraph (b) there shall be added –“
 ; and
(c) in a case to which paragraph (1A) applies, the additional income taken into account under regulation 25 shall be the whole of the income referred to in paragraph (1A)(b).”.
(6) In regulation 20(3) (life-style inconsistent with declared income) after sub-paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph –“
(aa) income which falls to be considered under regulation 19(1A) (income not taken into account);”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 16th March 2005.
John O'Neill
A senior officer of the
Department for Social Development
