The Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Illness or disability of relevant other child

63.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, expenses necessarily incurred by the non-resident parent in respect of the items listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (m) due to the long-term illness or disability of a relevant other child constitute special expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B—

(a) personal care and attendance;

(b) personal communication needs;

(c) mobility;

(d) domestic help;

(e) medical aids where these cannot be provided as part of health services;

(f) heating;

(g) clothing;

(h) laundry requirements;

(i) payments for food essential to comply with a diet recommended by a medical practitioner;

(j) adaptations required to the non-resident parent’s home;

(k) day care;

(l) rehabilitation; or

(m) respite care.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation and regulation 62—

(a) a person is “disabled” for a period in respect of which—

(i) a disability living allowance is paid to or in respect of that person,

(ii) that person would receive disability living allowance if it were not for the fact that the person is a patient, though remaining part of the applicant’s family, or

(iii) that person is registered as blind in a register maintained by or on behalf of a Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(1),

and “disability” is to be construed accordingly;

(b) “disability living allowance” means the care component of a disability living allowance, payable under section 72 of the Contributions and Benefits Act(2);

(c) “health services” has the same meaning as in Article 2(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972;

(d) “long-term illness” means an illness from which the child is suffering at the date of the application or the date from which the variation, if agreed, would take effect and which is likely to last for at least 12 months after that date, or, if likely to be shorter than 12 months, for the remainder of the child’s life;

(e) “relevant other child” has the meaning given in paragraph 10C(2) of Schedule 1(3).

(3) Where, at the date on which the non-resident parent makes the variation application—

(a) the non-resident parent or a member of the non-resident parent’s household has received, is in receipt of, or will receive any financial assistance from any source in respect of the long-term illness or disability of the relevant other child; or

(b) a disability living allowance is received by the non-resident parent or the member of the non-resident parent’s household on behalf of the relevant other child,

only the net amount of the costs incurred in respect of the items listed in paragraph (1), after the deduction of the financial assistance or the amount of the allowance, constitute special expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B.

(4) For the purpose of paragraph (2)(a)—

(a) “patient” means a person (other than a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a juvenile justice centre within the meaning of Article 51 of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(4) or a young offenders centre within the meaning of section 2 of the Treatment of Offenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1968(5) who is regarded as receiving free in-patient treatment within the meaning of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(6); and

(b) where a person has ceased to be registered in a register as referred to in head (iii) of that sub-paragraph, having regained their eyesight, that person is to be treated as though registered blind, for a period of 28 days after the day on which that person ceased to be registered in such a register.

(1)

S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14)

(2)

Section 72 was amended by Article 64(2) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)), sections 48 and 54(2) of, and Schedule 8 to, the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 and regulation 2(4) of S.R. 2011 No. 356

(3)

Paragraph 10C is inserted by Schedule 1 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 and was amended by paragraph 12 of Schedule 24 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004

(4)

S.I. 1998/1504 (N.I. 9)

(5)

1968 c. 29 (N.I.); section 2 was amended by Article 13(5) of the Treatment of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/1344 (N.I. 15)), paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 to the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1504 (N.I. 9)) and paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 to the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1965 (N.I. 15)

(6)

S.R. 2005 No. 580