The Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992

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23/03/2015- Amendment
23/03/2015
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PART I GENERAL

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 5th April 1993.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the Child Support Act 1991;

“applicable amount”[F1, except in regulation 40ZA,] is to be construed in accordance with Part IV of the Income Support Regulations;

“applicable amounts Schedule” means Schedule 2 to the Income Support Regulations M1;

“award period” means a period in respect of which an award of family credit or disability working allowance is made;

“balance of the reduction period” means, in relation to a direction that is or has been in force, the portion of the period specified in a direction in respect of which no reduction of relevant benefit has been made;

“benefit week”, in relation to income support, has the same meaning as in the Income Support Regulations, [F2in relation to jobseeker’s allowance has the same meaning as in the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations,] [F3in relation to employment and support allowance has the same meaning as in the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008,] and, in relation to family credit and disability working allowance, is to be construed in accordance with the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 M2;

[F4[F5“designated authority” means—

(a)the Secretary of State;

(b)a person providing services to the Secretary of State;

(c)a local authority;

(d)a person providing services to, or authorised to exercise any functions of, any such authority;]]

F6...

[F7“disability working allowance” means an award of disability working allowance under section 129 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 M3 which was awarded with effect from a date falling before 5th October 1999;]

“day to day care” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;

“effective application” means any application that complies with the provisions of regulation 2;

“effective date” means the date on which a maintenance assessment takes effect for the purposes of the Act;

[F8“family” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;]

[F9“family credit” means an award of family credit under section 128 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 which was awarded with effect from a date falling before 5th October 1999;]

[F10“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007;]

“Income Support Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 M4;

“Information, Evidence and Disclosure Regulations” means the Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations 1992 M5;

[F11“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations" means the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996;]

[F12“Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations” means the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992;]

“Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations” means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 M6;

“maintenance period” has the meaning prescribed in regulation 33;

“obligation imposed by section 6 of the Act” is to be construed in accordance with section 46(1) of the Act;

[F13“official error" means an error made by–

(a)an officer of the Department of Social Security acting as such which no person outside that Department caused or to which no person outside that Department materially contributed;

(b)[F14a person employed by a designated authority acting on behalf of the authority, which no person outside that authority caused or to which no person outside that authority materially contributed,

but excludes any error of law which is only shown to have been an error by virtue of a subsequent decision of [F15the Upper Tribunal] or the court;]]

“parent with care” means a person who, in respect of the same child or children, is both a parent and a person with care;

“the parent concerned” means the parent with respect to whom a direction is given;

[F8“partner” has the same meaning as in the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;]

“protected income level” has the same meaning as in paragraph 6(6) of Schedule 1 to the Act;

“relevant benefit” means income support, [F16income-based jobseeker’s allowance,] [F17income-related employment and support allowance] [F18or an award of family credit or disability working allowance which was awarded with effect from a date falling before 5th October 1999];

“relevant person” means—

(a)a person with care;

(b)an absent parent;

(c)a parent who is treated as an absent parent under regulation 20 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations;

(d)where the application for an assessment is made by a child under section 7 of the Act, that child,

in respect of whom a maintenance assessment has been applied for or is or has been in force[F19;]

[F19“universal credit” means universal credit under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012]

F20(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) The provisions of Schedule 1 shall have effect to supplement the meaning of “child” in section 55 of the Act.

(5) The provisions of these Regulations shall have general application to cases prescribed in regulations 19 to 26 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations as cases to be treated as special cases for the purposes of the Act, and the terms “absent parent” and “person with care” shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Except where express provision is made to the contrary, where, by any provision of the Act or of these Regulations—

(a)any document is given or sent to the Secretary of State, that document shall, subject to paragraph (7), be treated as having been so given or sent on the day it is received by the Secretary of State; and

(b)any document is given or sent to any [F21other] person, that document shall, if sent by post to that person’s last known or notified address, and subject to paragraph (8), be treated as having been given or sent on the second day after the day of posting, excluding any Sunday or any day which is a bank holiday in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M7.

(7) Except where the provisions of regulation [F229(1) or 18(4)] apply, the Secretary of State may treat a document given or sent to him as given or sent on such day, earlier than the day it was received by him, as he may determine, if he is satisfied that there was unavoidable delay in his receiving the document in question.

(8) Where, by any provision of the Act or of these Regulations, and in relation to a particular application, notice or notification—

(a)more than one document is required to be given or sent to a person, and more than one such document is sent by post to that person but not all the documents are posted on the same day; or

(b)documents are required to be given or sent to more than one person, and not all such documents are posted on the same day,

all those documents shall be treated as having been posted on the later or, as the case may be, the latest day of posting.

(9) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—

(a)to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number;

(b)to a numbered Schedule is to the Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number;

(c)to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number;

(d)in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(e)in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

Textual Amendments

F1Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (7.10.1996) by The Social Security and Child Support (Jobseeker’s Allowance) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1345), regs. 1, 5(2)(a)(i)

F2Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (7.10.1996) by The Social Security and Child Support (Jobseeker’s Allowance) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1345), regs. 1, 5(2)(a)(ii)

F3Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (27.10.2008) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) (No. 2) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1554), regs. 1(2)(b), 57(2)(a)