The Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992

PART I GENERAL

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 5th April 1993.

(2) In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act" means the Child Support Act 1991;

“claimant" means a claimant for income support;

“Contributions and Benefits Act" means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 M1 ;

“council tax benefit" has the same meaning as in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 M2 ;

[F1 “couple” means a married or unmarried couple;]

“course of advanced education" means

(a) a full-time course leading to a postgraduate degree or comparable qualification, a first degree or comparable qualification, a Diploma of Higher Education, a higher national diploma, a higher national diploma or higher national certificate of the Business and [F2 Technology] Education Council or the Scottish Vocational Education Council or a teaching qualification; or

(b) any other full-time course which is a course of a standard above that of an ordinary national diploma, a national diploma or national certificate of the Business and [F2 Technology] Education Council or the Scottish Vocational Education Council, the advanced level of the General Certificate of Education, a Scottish certificate of education (higher level) or a Scottish certificate of sixth year studies;

“covenant income" means the gross income payable to a student under a Deed of Covenant by a parent;

“day" includes any part of a day;

[F3 “day to day care” means—

(a) care of not less than 104 nights in total during the 12 month period ending with the relevant week; or

(b) where, in the opinion of the child support officer, a period other than 12 months but ending with the relevant week is more representative of the current arrangements for the care of the child in question, care during that period is not less in total than the number of nights which bears the same ratio to 104 nights as that period bears to 12 months,

and for the purpose of this definition—

(i) where a child is a boarder at a boarding school, or is an in-patient in a hospital, the person who, but for those circumstances, would otherwise provide day to day care of the child shall be treated as providing day to day care during the periods in question;]

[F4 (ii) in relation to an application for child support maintenance, “relevant week" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in head (ii) of sub-paragraph (a) of the definition of “relevant week" in this paragraph;]

[F4 (iii) in relation to a review of a maintenance assessment under section 16 of the Act “relevant week" means the period of 7 days immediately preceding whichever is the later of the date on which a request is made to an absent parent or to a person with care for information or evidence under regulation 17(5) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations; or

(iv) in relation to a review under section 17, 18(1)(a), (1)(b), (2) or (6A) or 19 (1)(a) to (c) or (6) of the Act, “relevant week" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in sub-paragraph (a), (c), (d), (e) or (f), as the case may be, of the definition of “relevant week" in this paragraph.]

“disability working allowance" has the same meaning as in section 129 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“earnings" has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph 1 or 3, as the case may be, of Schedule 1;

“effective date" means the date on which a maintenance assessment takes effect for the purposes of the Act;

“eligible housing costs" shall be construed in accordance with Schedule 3;

“employed earner" has the same meaning as in section 2(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“family" means—

(a) a married or unmarried couple (including the members of a polygamous marriage) and any child or children living with them for whom at least one member of that couple has day to day care;

(b) where a person who is not a member of a married or unmarried couple has day to day care of a child, that person and any such child or children;

and for the purposes of this definition a person shall not be treated as having day to day care of a child who is a member of that person’s household where the child in question is being looked after by a local authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989 M3 or, in Scotland, where the child is boarded out with that person by a local authority under the provisions of section 21 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 M4 ;

“grant" means any kind of educational grant or award and includes any scholarship, exhibition, allowance or bursary but does not include a payment made under section 100 of the Education Act 1944 M5 or section 73 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 M6 ;

“grant contribution" means any amount which a Minister of the Crown or an education authority treats as properly payable by another person when assessing the amount of a student’s grant and by which that amount is, as a consequence, reduced;

“home" means—

(a) the dwelling in which a person and any family of his normally live; or

(b) if he or they normally live in more than one home, the principal home of that person and any family of his,

and for the purpose of determining the principal home in which a person normally lives no regard shall be had to residence in a residential care home or a nursing home during a period which does not exceed 52 weeks or, where it appears to the child support officer that the person will return to his principal home after that period has expired, such longer period as that officer considers reasonable to allow for the return of that person to that home;

“housing benefit" has the same meaning as in section 130 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“Housing Benefit Regulations" means the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987 M7 ;

“Income Support Regulations" means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 M8 ;

[F5 “Independent Living (1993) Fund” means the charitable trust of that name established by a deed made between the Secretary of State for Social Security of the one part and Robin Glover Wendt and John Fletcher Shepherd of the other part;]

[F6 “Independent Living (Extension) Fund” means the charitable trust of that name established by a deed made between the Secretary of State for Social Security of the one part and Robin Glover Wendt and John Fletcher Shepherd of the other part;]

“Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992 M9 ;

“married couple" means a man and a woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

“non-dependant"means a person who is a non-dependant for the purposes of either—

(a) regulation 3 of the Income Support Regulations; or

(b) regulation 3 of the Housing Benefit Regulations,

or who would be a non-dependant for those purposes if another member of the household in which he is living were entitled to income support or housing benefit as the case may be;

“nursing home" has the same meaning as in regulation 19(3) of the Income Support Regulations;

“occupational pension scheme" has the same meaning as in section 66(1) of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 M10 ;

“ordinary clothing or footwear" means clothing or footwear for normal daily use, but does not include school uniforms, or clothing or footwear used solely for sporting activities;

“parent with care" means a person who, in respect of the same child or children, is both a parent and a person with care;

“partner" means—

(a) in relation to a member of a married or unmarried couple who are living together, the other member of that couple;

(b) in relation to a member of a polygamous marriage, any other member of that marriage with whom he lives;

“patient" means a person (other than a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a young offender institution within the meaning of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 M11 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 M12 ) who is regarded as receiving free in-patient treatment within the meaning of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 M13 ;

“person" does not include a local authority;

“personal pension scheme" has the same meaning as in section 84(1) of the Social Security Act 1986 M14 and, in the case of a self-employed earner, includes a scheme approved by the Inland Revenue under Chapter IV of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 M15 ;

“polygamous marriage" means any marriage during the subsistence of which a party to it is married to more than one person and in respect of which any ceremony of marriage took place under the law of a country which at the time of that ceremony permitted polygamy;

“prisoner" means a person who is detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under a sentence imposed by a court other than a person whose detention is under the Mental Health Act 1983 M16 or the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 M17 ;

[F7 “qualifying transfer” has the meaning assigned to it in Schedule 3A;]

“relevant child" means a child of an absent parent or a parent with care who is a member of the same family as that parent;

“relevant Schedule" means Schedule 2 to the Income Support Regulations (income support applicable amounts);

[F8 “relevant week” means–

(a) in relation to an application for child support maintenance [F9 or a review under section 18(1)(a) or 19(1)(a) of the Act]–

(i) in the case of the person making the application, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which the appropri ate maintenance assessment application form (being an effective application within the meaning of regulation 2(4) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations) is sub mitted to the Secretary of State;

(ii) in the case of a person to whom a maintenance assessment enquiry form is given or sent as the result of such an application, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which that form is given to him or, as the case may be, the date on which it is treated as having been sent to him under regulation 1(6)(b) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations];

[F10 (b) in relation to a review of an assessment under section 16 of the Act, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which a request for information or evidence under regulation 17(5) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations is made;]

[F10 (c) in relation to a review under section 17 of the Act, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which the application for review is received by the Secretary of State;

(d) in relation to a review under section 18(1)(b) or 19(1)(b) of the Act, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which application for the review under section 17 of the Act was received by the Secretary of State;

(e) in relation to a review under section18(2), (6A) or (19(1)(c) of the Act, the relevant week which was applicable for the purposes of the making of the maintenance assessment which is being reviewed; or

(f) in relation to a review under section 19(6) of the Act, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which, in the circumstances referred to in that sub-section, the child support officer first suspected that it would be appropriate to make one or more fresh assessments.]

“residential care home" has the same meaning as in regulation 19(3) of the Income Support Regulations;

“retirement annuity contract" means an annuity contract for the time being approved by the Board of Inland Revenue as having for its main object the provision of a life annuity in old age or the provision of an annuity for a partner or dependant and in respect of which relief from income tax may be given on any premium;

“self-employed earner" has the same meaning as in section 2(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act;

“student" means a person, other than a person in receipt of a training allowance, who is aged less than 19 and attending a full-time course of advanced education or who is aged 19 or over and attending a full-time course of study at an educational establishment; and for the purposes of this definition—

(a) a person who has started on such a course shall be treated as attending it throughout any period of term or vacation within it, until the last day of the course or such earlier date as he abandons it or is dismissed from it;

(b) a person on a sandwich course (within the meaning of paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 to the [F11 Education (Mandatory Awards) (No. 2) Regulations 1993]) shall be treated as attending a full-time course of advanced education or, as the case may be, of study;

“student loan" means a loan which is made to a student pursuant to arrangements made under section 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 M18 ;

F12 ...

“training allowance" has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Income Support Regulations;

“unmarried couple" means a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

“weekly council tax" means the annual amount of the council tax in question payable in respect of the year in which the effective date falls, divided by 52;

“year" means a period of 52 weeks;

“youth training" means—

(a) arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 M19 or section 2 of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990 M20 ; or

(b) arrangements made by the Secretary of State for persons enlisted in Her Majesty’s forces for any special term of service specified in regulations made under section 2 of the Armed Forces Act 1966 M21 (power of Defence Council to make regulations as to engagement of persons in regular forces);

for purposes which include the training of persons who, at the beginning of their training, are under the age of 18.

[F13 (2A) Where any provision of these Regulations requires the income of a person to be estimated and that or any other provision of these Regulations requires that the amount of such estimated income is to be taken into account for any purpose after deducting from it a sum in respect of income tax or of primary Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act or of contributions paid by that person towards an occupational or personal pension scheme, then [F14 subject to sub-paragraph (e)]–

(a) the amount to be deducted in respect of income tax shall be calculated by applying to that income the rates of income tax applicable at the [F15 relevant week] less only the personal relief to which that person is entitled under Chapter 1 of Part VII of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (personal relief); but if the period in respect of which that income is to be estimated is less than a year, the amount of the personal relief deductible under this sub-paragraph shall be calculated on a pro rata basis;

(b) the amount to be deducted in respect of Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act shall be calculated by applying to that income the appropriate primary percentage applicable in the relevant week; and

(c) the amount to be deducted in respect of contributions paid by that person towards an occupational F16 ... pension scheme shall be one-half of the sums so [F17 paid; and]]

[F18 (d) the amount to be deducted in respect of contributions towards a personal pension scheme shall be one half of the contributions paid by that person or, where that scheme is intended partly to provide a capital sum to discharge a mortgage secured on that person’s home, 37.5 per centum of those contributions;

(e) in relation to any bonus or commission which may be included in that person’s income—

(i) the amount to be deducted in respect of income tax shall be calculated by applying to the gross amount of that bonus or commission the rate or rates of income tax applicable in the relevant week;

(ii) the amount to be deducted in respect of primary Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefit Act or under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 shall be calculated by applying to the gross amount of that bonus or commission the appropriate main primary percentage applicable in the relevant week [F19 but no deduction shall be made in respect of the portion (if any) of the bonus or commission which, if added to estimated income, would cause such income to exceed the upper earnings limit for Class 1 contributions as provided for in section 5(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act]; and

(iii) the amount to be deducted in respect of contributions paid by that person in respect of the gross amount of that bonus or commission towards an occupational pension scheme shall be one half of any sum so paid.]

(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference—

(a) to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number;

(b) to a numbered Schedule is to the Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number;

(c) to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number;

(d) in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;

(e) in a paragraph to a lettered or numbered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter or number.

(4) The regulations in Part II and the provisions of the Schedules to these Regulations are subject to the regulations relating to special cases in Part III.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(b)

F2 Word in reg. 1(2) substituted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(a)

F3 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(2)(i)

F4 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (22.1.1996) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3261), regs. 1(2), 40(2)(a)

F5 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(c)(i)

F6 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(c)(ii)

F7 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(2)(ii)

F8 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(d)

F9 Words in reg. 1(2) inserted (22.1.1996) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3261), regs. 1(2), 40(2)(b)

F10 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (22.1.1996) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3261), regs. 1(2), 40(2)(c)

F11 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(2)(iii)

F12 Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (5.4.1993) by virtue of The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(2)(e)

F13 Reg. 1(2A) inserted (5.4.1993) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/913), regs. 1(1), 19(3)

F14 Words in reg. 1(2A) substituted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(a)

F15 Words in reg. 1(2A) substituted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(b)

F16 Words in reg. 1(2A) omitted (18.4.1995) by virtue of The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(c)

F17 Words in reg. 1(2A) substituted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(c)

F18 Reg. 1(2A)(d)(e) inserted (18.4.1995) by The Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1045), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(d)

F19 Words in reg. 1(2A)(e)(ii) inserted (22.1.1996) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3261), regs. 1(2), 40(3)

Marginal Citations

M1 1992 c.4.

M2 1992 c.14.

M3 1989 c.41.

M4 1968 c.49.

M5 1944 c.31.

M6 1980 c.44.

M7 S.I. 1987/1971; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1988/1444, 1989/416 and 1991/503, 2910.

M8 S.I. 1987/1967; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1988/663, 1228, 1445, 2022; 1989/534, 1034, 1678; 1990/547, 1168, 1776; 1991/236, 387, 503, 1559.

M9 S.I. 1992/1813.

M10 1975 c.60.

M11 1982 c.48.

M12 1988 c.33.

M13 S.I. 1975/555; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1977/1693 and 1987/1683.

M14 1986 c.50.

M15 1988 c.1.

M16 1983 c.20.

M17 1984 c.36.

M18 1990 c.6; section 1 is amended by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 (c.37), Schedule 9.

M19 1973 c.50; section 2 is substituted by the Employment Act 1988 (c.19), section 25(1).

M20 1990 c.35.

M21 1966 c.45.