PART 4THE MAINTENANCE CALCULATION RULES

CHAPTER 2RATES OF CHILD SUPPORT MAINTENANCE

Nil rate44

1

The nil rate is payable where the non-resident parent is—

a

a child;

b

a prisoner or a person serving a sentence of imprisonment detained in hospital;

c

a person who is 16 or 17 years old and—

i

in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance, or

ii

a member of a couple whose partner is in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance;

d

a person receiving an allowance in respect of a relevant training scheme; or

e

a person who is resident in a residential care home, nursing home or an independent hospital who—

i

is in receipt of a pension, benefit or allowance specified in regulation 43(1) or (2), or

ii

has the whole or part of the cost of the accommodation met by the Regional Health and Social Care Board or an HSC trust.

2

For the purposes only of determining whether paragraph 5(b) of Schedule 147 applies, the gross weekly income of the non-resident parent is to include any payments made by way of benefits, pensions and allowances referred to in regulation 43(1) or (2).

3

In this regulation—

  • an “HSC trust” means a Health and Social Care trust established under Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 199148, by which functions are exercisable by virtue of an authorisation for the time being in operation under Article 3(1) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1994;

  • “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 200349;

  • “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;

  • “person serving a sentence of imprisonment detained in hospital” means a person who—

    1. a

      is being detained under Article 53 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 198650; and

    2. b

      in any case where there is in relation to that person a release date within the meaning of Article 56(3) of that Order, is being detained on or before the day which the Department certifies to be that release date;

  • “prisoner” means a person who is detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under sentence imposed by court other than a person who is detained in hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

  • “the Regional Health and Social Care Board” means the Regional Health and Social Care Board established under section 7 of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 200951;

  • “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.