The Social Security (Child Maintenance Amendments) Regulations 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967) (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207) (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”) and the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/455).

Regulations 2 and 3 amend provisions in the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations about liable relatives so as to:

• revoke provisions no longer required as a consequence of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (c.6);

• provide a definition of “child maintenance”, “claimant’s family, “housing costs” and “ordinary clothing and footwear”;

• clarify that child maintenance is included in the definition of “payment” for the purposes of the liable relative provisions;

• provide that payments of any child maintenance are subject to a disregard of £20 a week for which provision is made in a single set of rules for each benefit.

Regulation 2 also amends the Income Support Regulations so as to substitute a reference to a revoked provision in the Social Security Act 1986 with the relevant provision in the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

Regulation 4 makes consequential amendments to the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations to remove provisions amending the Income Support Regulations and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations that are no longer required because the new child maintenance rules in these benefits apply to all relevant claimants.

A full impact assessment has not been published for this instrument as it has no impact on private and voluntary sectors.