The Social Security and Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Amendment of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations

6.—(1) The Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(1) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In regulation 3A(2) (revision of child support decisions)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (c) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph—

“(cc) if an appeal is made under Article 22 of the Child Support Order against a decision within the time prescribed in regulation 31, or in a case to which regulation 32 applies within the time prescribed in that regulation, but the appeal has not been determined;”; and

(ii) after sub-paragraph (e) there shall be added—

• “; or

  (f)

  if the grounds for revision are that a person with respect to whom a maintenance calculation was made was not, at the time the calculation was made, a parent of a child to whom the calculation relates.”;

(b) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(3) In paragraphs (1), (2) and (5A) and in regulation 4(3) “decision” means a decision of the Department under Article 13, 14 or 43 of the Child Support Order(3), or a determination of an appeal tribunal on a referral under Article 28D(1)(b) of that Order(4), or any supersession of a decision under Article 19 of that Order, whether as originally made or as revised under Article 18 of that Order.”; and

(c) after paragraph (5) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(5A) Where—

(a) the Department makes a decision (“decision A”) and there is an appeal;

(b) there is a further decision in relation to the appellant (“decision B”) after the appeal but before the appeal results in a decision by an appeal tribunal (“decision C”); and

(c) the Department would have made decision B differently if it had been aware of decision C at the time it made decision B,

decision B may be revised at any time.”.

(3) In regulation 6B(4)(e)(5) (circumstances in which a child support decision may not be superseded) “, (19)” shall be omitted.

(4) In regulation 7B(6) (date from which a decision superseded under Article 19 of the Child Support Order takes effect)—

(a) after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(1A) Where a decision is superseded by a decision made by the Department in a case to which regulation 6A(2)(a) or (3)(7) applies and the relevant circumstance is that—

(a) paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order(8) applies, the decision shall take effect from the first day of the maintenance period on or after—

(i) the date on which the non-resident parent becomes the partner of a non-resident parent, or

(ii) where a maintenance calculation is first made in respect of the non-resident parent’s partner, the date on which that calculation takes effect for the purposes of the Child Support Order; or

(b) paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order ceases to apply, the decision shall take effect from the first day of the maintenance period on or after the date on which—

(i) the non-resident parent or his partner ceases to be a non-resident parent, or

(ii) the non-resident parent ceases to be the partner of a non-resident parent.”; and

(b) paragraph (19) shall be omitted.

(5) In regulation 31(2) (time within which appeals are to be brought) after “regulation 3(1) or (3)” in both places where it occurs, there shall be inserted “or 3A(1)”.

(1)

S.R. 1999 No. 162; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 2001 No. 23

(2)

Regulation 3A is inserted by regulation 2(4) of S.R. 2001 No. 23

(3)

Articles 13 and 14 are substituted respectively, by sections 1 and 4 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000

(4)

Article 28D was inserted by Article 3(1) of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and paragraph (1) is substituted by section 5(3)(a) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000

(5)

Regulation 6B was inserted by regulation 2(7) of S.R. 2001 No. 23

(6)

Regulation 7B was inserted by regulation 2(8) of S.R. 2001 No. 23

(7)

Regulation 6A was inserted by regulation 2(7) of S.R. 2001 No. 23

(8)

Paragraph 4 is substituted by section 1(3) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000