Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations3
1
The Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199213 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (7).
2
In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation) –
a
in the definition of “home”14 for “a home for persons in need or a nursing home” there shall be substituted “a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital”;
b
after the definition of “Income Support Regulations” there shall be inserted the following definition –
“independent hospital” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
c
for the definition of “nursing home” there shall be substituted the following definition –
“nursing home” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 11 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
d
for the definition of “residential care home”15 there shall be substituted the following definition –
“residential care home” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
e
after the definition of “self-employed earner” there shall be inserted the following definition –
“state pension credit” means state pension credit under the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 200216;
3
In regulation 9(1)17 (exempt income: calculation or estimation of E) for sub-paragraph (h) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph –
h
where the absent parent or his partner is resident in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital, the amount of fees paid in respect of that home or hospital, as the case may be, but where it has been determined that the absent parent in question or his partner is entitled to housing benefit in respect of fees for that home or hospital, as the case may be, the net amount of such fees after deduction of housing benefit;
4
After regulation 10A18 (assessable income: working tax credit paid to or in respect of a parent with care or an absent parent) there shall be inserted the following regulation –
Assessable income: state pension credit paid to or in respect of a parent with care or an absent parent10B
Where state pension credit is paid to or in respect of a parent with care or an absent parent, that parent shall, for the purposes of Schedule 1 to the Order, be taken to have no assessable income.
5
In regulation 11(1)19 (protected income) for sub-paragraph (i) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph –
i
where the absent parent or his partner is resident in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital, the amount of fees paid in respect of that home or hospital, as the case may be, but where it has been determined that the absent parent in question or his partner is entitled to housing benefit in respect of fees for that home or hospital, as the case may be, the net amount of such fees after deduction of housing benefit;
6
In Schedule 1 (calculation of N and M) –
a
in paragraph 9A(2)20 after “war widow’s pension” there shall be inserted “and a war widower’s pension”; and
b
in paragraph 22A(2)21 after “war widow’s pension” there shall be inserted “and a war widower’s pension”.
7
In Schedule 2 (amounts to be disregarded when calculating or estimating N and M) –
a
in paragraph 1522 after “income support” there shall be inserted “, state pension credit”;
b
in paragraph 18(a) and (b)(ii) after “war widow’s pension” there shall be inserted “or war widower’s pension”;
c
paragraph 47E23 shall be omitted; and
d
after paragraph 47D24 there shall be inserted the following paragraph –