The Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations provide for an application for a departure direction to be made, the effect of which, if given, would be to vary a child support maintenance assessment determined in accordance with the formula provisions of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and the regulations made under it.

Regulations 1 to 3 contain interpretation provisions, provisions relating to documents and rounding provisions.

Regulations 4 to 12 contain provisions relating to the manner in which an application is to be made, to the preliminary consideration of an application by the Department of Health and Social Services, to applications where income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance is payable, to interim maintenance assessments in force and to applications and reviews under Article 19 of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

Regulations 13 to 29 and the Schedule make provision in relation to cases in which a departure direction may be given: regulations 13 to 20 relate to special expenses, regulations 21 and 22 and the Schedule to property or capital transfers and regulations 23 to 29 to additional cases where a departure direction may be given.

The Schedule contains a table for calculating the equivalent weekly value of a transfer of property. The factors in the table are derived from the standard formula used in annuity calculations.

Regulation 30 prescribes factors to be taken into account and not to be taken into account in determining whether it would be just and equitable to give a departure direction.

Regulations 31 to 35 contain provisions as to the effective date and the duration of a departure direction.

Regulations 36 to 44 contain provisions as to the maintenance assessment which is to be made in consequence of a departure direction.

Regulations 45 and 46 contain provisions as to the imposition of a regular payments condition, and a departure direction having effect from a date earlier than the effective date of the current assessment.

Regulations 47 and 48 contain transitional provisions.

Regulations 49 to 53 provide for amendments to be made to five sets of Child Support Regulations which are consequential on the introduction of the departures system.