The Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Special expenses — boarding school fees

13.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (5) and regulation 15, the maintenance element of the costs, incurred or reasonably expected to be incurred, by the non-resident parent for the purpose of the attendance at a boarding school of the qualifying child shall constitute expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B to the Order .

(2) Where the Department considers that the costs referred to in paragraph (1) cannot be distinguished with reasonable certainty from other costs incurred in connection with the attendance at boarding school by the qualifying child, it may instead determine the amount of those costs and any such determination shall not exceed 35 per cent. of the total costs.

(3) Where—

(a) the non-resident parent has at the date the variation application is made, received, or at that date is in receipt of, financial assistance from any source in respect of the boarding school fees; or

(b) the boarding school fees are being paid in part by the non-resident parent and in part by another person,

a portion of the costs incurred by the non-resident parent in respect of the boarding school fees shall constitute special expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B to the Order being the same proportion as the maintenance element of the costs bears to the total amount of the costs.

(4) No variation on this ground shall reduce by more than 50 per cent. the income to which the Department would otherwise have had regard in the calculation of maintenance liability.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation, “boarding school fees” means the fees payable in respect of attendance at a recognised educational establishment providing full-time education which is not advanced education for children under the age of 19 and where some or all of the pupils, including the qualifying child, are resident during term time.