The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1995

Substitution of regulation 31 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations E+W+S

34.  For regulation 31 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations (effective dates on review), there shall be substituted the following regulations—

“ Effective dates of maintenance assessments following a review under section 16 or 17 of the Act

31.— (1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a fresh maintenance assessment is made following a review under section 16 of the Act, the effective date of that assessment shall be 104 weeks after the effective date of the previous assessment disregarding any previous assessment made following a review made under section 17 of the Act, where after 22nd January 1996 a child support officer decided, in accordance with section 17(3) of the Act, to proceed with a review, or under section, 18 or 19 of the Act or any interim maintenance assessment made under section 12(1)(b) or (c) of the Act.

(2) Where a fresh maintenance assessment is made following a review under section 16 of the Act in the circumstances set out in regulation 18, the effective date of that fresh maintenance assessment shall be the date determined under paragraph (3).

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4), (5) and (6), where an application is made under section 17 of the Act for a review of a maintenance assessment in force, and a fresh maintenance assessment is made in accordance with the provisions of regulation 20, 21 or 22, the effective date of that assessment shall be the first day of the maintenance period in which the application is received.

(4) Where an application is made under section 17 of the Act for a review of a maintenance assessment in force following the death of a qualifying child and a fresh maintenance assessment is made in accordance with the provisions of regulation 20, 21 or 22, the effective date of that assessment shall be the first day of the maintenance period during the course of which that child died.

(5) Where a child support officer has carried out a review of an original assessment under section 17(4A) of the Act, the effective date of any fresh assessment made under section 17(6) of the Act shall be the date determined under paragraph (3).

(6) Where a fresh maintenance assessment is made under section 17(7) of the Act following a review of a subsequent assessment, the effective date of that fresh assessment shall be the effective date of that subsequent assessment.

Effective dates of maintenance assessments following a review under section 18 of the Act

31A.— (1) Where, following a review under section 18(1)(a) of the Act, a maintenance assessment is made following a refusal to make a maintenance assessment, the effective date of that assessment shall be the effective date of the assessment that would have been made if the application for a maintenance assessment had not been refused.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) to (6) and to regulation 31C, where an application is made under section 18(2) of the Act for a review of a maintenance assessment in force at the time of that application, the effective date of a fresh assessment (if one is made) following such a review shall be—

(a) where the application is received by the Secretary of State within 28 days of the date of notification of that assessment, or on a later date but the Secretary of State is satisfied that there was unavoidable delay, the effective date as determined by the child support officer dealing with the review;

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (a), where the application is received by the Secretary of State later than 28 days after the date of notification of that assessment, the first day of the maintenance period in which the application is received.

(3) Subject to paragraph (5), where an application is made under section 18(2) of the Act for a review of a maintenance assessment in force following notification being given to the relevant person that the child support officer does not propose to review the assessment in consequence of the coming into force of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (4), the effective date of a fresh assessment (if one is made) following such a review shall be—

(a) where the application is received within 28 days of the Secretary of State notifying the relevant person of the child support officer’s decision, or on a later date where the Secretary of State is satisfied that there was unavoidable delay, the effective date as determined by the child support officer dealing with the review;

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (a), where the application is received by the Secretary of State later than 28 days after the date of the notification of the child support officer’s decision, the first day of the maintenance period in which the application is received.

(4) Paragraph (3) applies to the following provisions of the Child Support and Income Support (Amendment) Regulations 1995—

(a) regulation 44(2);

(b) regulation 45;

(c) regulation 46(2)(d) and (e);

(d) regulation 51.

(5) Where the application made under section 18(2) of the Act is made following notification being given to the relevant person that the child support officer has determined that the amount to be allowed in the computation of the relevant person’s exempt income in accordance with Schedule 3A to the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations is nil by reason of the failure of the relevant person to furnish within a reasonable time the evidence required by paragraph 2 of that Schedule—

(a) where the Secretary of State is satisfied that there was good cause for the delay in furnishing the evidence the effective date of any assessment made in consequence of the review shall be the effective date which would have been applicable to the assessment had the evidence been furnished timeously;

(b) where the Secretary of State is not satisfied that there was good cause for the delay, the effective date of any revised assessment shall be the first day of the maintenance period in which the relevant person provides that evidence.

(6) The effective date of any fresh maintenance assessment, made following a review under section 18(6A) of the Act of a maintenance assessment made after the original assessment, shall be the effective date of the maintenance assessment which has been reviewed.

(7) Where, an application is made under section 18(1)(b) of the Act, for a review of a refusal of an application under section 17 of the Act for the review of a maintenance assessment, the effective date of a fresh maintenance assessment (if one is made) shall be the date determined under regulation 31(3).

(8) Where, following a review under section 18(3) of the Act, a cancelled maintenance assessment is reinstated, the effective date of the reinstated assessment shall be the date on which the cancelled assessment ceased to have effect.

Effective dates of maintenance assessments following a review under section 19 of the Act

31B.— (1) Where a maintenance assessment is made following a review under section 19(1)(a) of the Act of a refusal to make a maintenance assessment, the effective date of that maintenance assessment shall be the date determined under regulation 31A(1).

(2) Where a fresh maintenance assessment is made, following a review under section 19(1)(b) of the Act of a refusal of an application under section 17 of the Act for review of a maintenance assessment, the effective date of that fresh maintenance assessment shall be the date determined under regulation 31(3) to (6).

(3) Subject to paragraph (5) and regulation 31C, where a child support officer has carried out a review of a maintenance assessment on the grounds set out in section 19(2) of the Act, the effective date of any fresh maintenance assessment made following that review shall be the effective date as determined by the child support officer dealing with the review.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5) and regulation 31C, where a child support officer has carried out a review of a maintenance assessment on the grounds set out in section 19(6) of the Act, the effective date of any fresh assessment made following such review shall be the first day of the maintenance period in which the child support officer suspected that he might be required to make one or more fresh maintenance assessments if an application under section 17 of the Act were made.

(5) Where a fresh maintenance assessment is made under section 19 of the Act following the death of a qualifying child, the effective date of that assessment shall be the first day of the maintenance period during which that child died.

Provisions as to effective dates of maintenance assessments in specific cases

31C.— (1) Where there has been a misrepresentation or failure to disclose a material fact on the part of the person with care or absent parent in connection with an application for a maintenance assessment under the Act, a review under section 16 of the Act, or with information or evidence requested by a child support officer on a review under section 17, 18 or 19 of the Act and that misrepresentation or failure has resulted in an incorrect assessment or a series of incorrect assessments, the effective date of a fresh assessment (or of a fresh assessment in relation to the earliest relevant period) following discovery of the misrepresentation or failure shall be the effective date of the incorrect assessment or the first incorrect assessment, as the case may be.

(2) Where a fresh maintenance assessment is made on a review under section 18 or 19 of the Act by reason of an assessment having been made in ignorance of a material fact or having been based on a mistake as to a material fact and that ignorance or mistake, as the case may be, is attributable to an operational or administrative error on the part of the Secretary of State or of a child support officer, the effective date of that assessment shall be the effective date of the assessment that has been reviewed.

(3) Where a child support officer on a review under section 18 or 19 of the Act is satisfied that a maintenance assessment which is or has been in force is defective by reason of a mistake as to the effective date of that assessment, the effective date of a fresh assessment shall be that determined in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2), regulations 8C(1), 30 to 31B, 33(7), or in accordance with regulation 3(5), (7) or (8) of the Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations, as the case may be.”.