The Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Persons treated as non-resident parents

8.—(1) Where the circumstances of a case are that—

(a) two or more persons who do not live in the same household each provide day to day care for the same qualifying child; and

(b) at least one of those persons is a parent of the child,

that case shall be treated as a special case for the purposes of the Order.

(2) For the purposes of this case a parent who provides day to day care for a child of his is to be treated as a non-resident parent for the purposes of the Order in the following circumstances—

(a) a parent who provides such care to a lesser extent than the other parent, person or persons who provide such care for the child in question; or

(b) where the persons mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) include both parents and the circumstances are such that care is provided to the same extent by both but each provides care to an extent greater than or equal to any other person who provides such care for that child—

(i) the parent who is not in receipt of child benefit for the child in question, or

(ii) if neither parent is in receipt of child benefit for that child, the parent who, in the opinion of the Department, will not be the principal provider of day to day care for that child.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation and regulation 10 “child benefit” means child benefit payable under Part IX of the Contributions and Benefits Act(1).

(1)

Part IX was amended by paragraph 185 of Schedule 9 to the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and section 63 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000