The Child Support and Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The powers exercised to make these Regulations are those contained in the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (“the Order”) and the Child Maintenance Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the 2008 Act”). Some of the powers exercised from the Order have been inserted by the 2008 Act. Some of the powers are conferred by provisions of the Order prior to the amendments made to it by the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (“the 2000 Act”), some of which amendments are not fully in operation, and relate to the child support scheme which was in operation prior to 3 March 2003, and which remains in operation for the purposes of certain cases (“the old scheme”). Other powers are conferred by provisions of the Order as amended by the 2000 Act, which relate to the child support scheme provided for by those amendments, which came into operation for the purposes of specified categories of cases on 3 March 2003 (see the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security (2000 Act) (Commencement No. 9) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003) (“the new scheme”).

Regulation 2 amends the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 by including, in Schedule 1 of those Regulations, a reference to income-related employment and support allowance, which was introduced by Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007. The definition of the now obsolete Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 is also removed from regulation 1.

Regulation 3 amends the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations”) and makes the following amendments to old scheme cases.

Paragraph (2) inserts definitions for “pensionable age” and “qualifying age for state pension credit” into regulation 1.

Paragraphs (3) and (4) amend regulations 9 and 18, replacing the references to age 60 with references to the qualifying age for state pension credit. The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 allows for the eventual equalisation of state pension age between men and women. The amendments to regulations 9 and 18 reflect that equalisation.

Paragraph (5) inserts a new paragraph, 15A, into Schedule 2. This new paragraph prescribes, for the purpose of disregarding amounts when calculating parents’ net income, any payment of Return to Work Credit under section 1 of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1950.

Regulation 4 amends the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992. This amendment is necessary as a consequence to the amendment to the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (“the Decisions and Appeals Regulations”). See the relevant paragraph outlining that amendment below.

Regulation 5 amends the Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Departure Direction Regulations”). The regulation substitutes regulation 24 of the Departure Direction Regulations to extend the ground in that regulation for a departure direction for diversion of income to a case where the non-applicant has the ability to control the amount of income which is taken into account as assessable income received from employment or self-employment and dividends from shares, and the Department is satisfied that this is income which would otherwise fall to be taken into account under the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations. The amendment affects the old scheme and mirrors the amendment made in regulation 8 of these Regulations (see below) for the new scheme.

Regulation 6 amends the Decisions and Appeals Regulations. The amendment consolidates and simplifies certain provisions in the Decisions and Appeals Regulations relating to revision and supersession of child support decisions. To that end, regulation 6A has been substituted, and a new Schedule, Schedule 2D, replaces regulation 7B, which sets out the exceptions to the general rule in Article 19 of the Order as to the date from which a supersession decision takes effect. Provisions regarding adjustment of amounts payable under a maintenance calculation in relation to voluntary payments and overpayments of child support maintenance have been amended so that Articles 18 and 19 of the Order no longer apply, but the right of appeal is retained.

Regulation 7 amends the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001, (“the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations”) by removing from the categories of persons liable for the nil rate of child support maintenance those persons who have been hospital in-patients for 52 weeks or more. This is a result of the revocation of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 on 10 April 2006 by the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 2005, from which date the benefits of hospital in-patients are no longer down-rated. As a consequence of this change, such persons are no longer subject to the nil rate of child support maintenance.

Regulation 8 amends regulation 19(4) of the Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the Variations Regulations”). The amendment extends the ground for a variation for diversion of income to a case where the non-resident parent has the ability to control the amount of income which is taken into account as net weekly income received from employment or self-employment, and the Department is satisfied that this is income which would otherwise fall to be taken into account under the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations, or under regulation 19(1A) of the Variations Regulations. A new paragraph, (4A), is inserted after regulation 19(4) to make clear the meaning of net weekly income. These amendments affect the new scheme and mirror the amendment made in regulation 5 of these Regulations (see above) for the old scheme.

Regulation 9 amends the Child Support Information Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008. It prescribes the kinds of employment to which the offence for unauthorised disclosure of Article 46(1B) of the Order applies.