The Social Security Benefit (Dependency) Regulations 1977

Allocation of contributions for wife or children

3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, any sum or sums paid by a person by way of contribution towards either or both of the following, that is to say the maintenance of his wife and the cost of providing for one or more children to whom this regulation refers, shall be treated for the purposes of section 31(c)(i), 43(1)(b), 44(1)(a), 45(2)(b), 65(1), 66(1)(a) or 70(4) (conditions as to maintenance) as such contributions of such respective amounts equal in the aggregate to the said sum or sums, in respect of such of the persons hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, his wife or any child or children to whom this regulation refers, as may be determined by the determining authority so as to secure as large a payment as possible by way of benefit in respect of dependants.

(2) A sum paid by way of contribution towards the maintenance of a wife shall not be treated by virtue of this regulation as a sum paid by way of contribution towards the cost of providing for a child or children, and a sum paid by way of contribution towards the cost of providing for a child or children shall not be so treated as a sum paid by way of contribution towards the maintenance of a wife, unless in either case the wife is entitled to child benefit in respect of the child or children.

(3) Except for the purposes of section 31(c)(i) (child's special allowance), the children to whom this regulation refers are any children in respect of whom, in the period for which the sum in question is paid by the person, that person is entitled to child benefit or could have been so entitled by virtue of regulations had he contributed to the cost of providing for the child at a sufficient weekly rate.

(4) For the purposes of section 31(c)(i)—

(a) the children to whom this regulation refers are any such children to whom section 31(b) applies;

(b) a determination made under paragraph (1) in order to ascertain the weekly rate at which the husband had before his death been contributing to the cost of providing for a child may be varied on review from time to time by the determining authority so often as may be necessary to secure as large a payment as possible by way of the child's special allowance, so however that no such review shall affect entitlement in respect of any period before the date of the review; and

(c) the condition in paragraph (2) shall be deemed to be satisfied if it would have been satisfied but for the fact that the child was not then in Great Britain.