12.—(1) Regulation 33 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations (maintenance periods) shall be amended in acordance with the following provisions of this regulation.
(2) For paragraph (6), there shall be substituted the following paragraph—
“(6) Where a case is to be treated as a special case for the purposes of the Act by virtue of regulation 22 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations (multiple applications relating to an absent parent) and an application is made by a person with care in relation to an absent parent where—
(a)there is already a maintenance assessment in force in relation to that absent parent and a different person with care; or
(b)sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, but before a maintenance assessment is made in relation to that application, a maintenance assessment is made in relation to that absent parent and a different person with care,
the maintenance periods in relation to an assessment made in response to that application shall coincide with the maintenance periods in relation to the earlier maintenance assessment, except where regulation 3(7) of the Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations or paragraph (8) applies, and the first such period shall, subject to paragraph (9), commence not later than 7 days after the date of notification to the relevant persons of the later maintenance assessment.”
(3) After paragraph (8) there shall be added the following paragaph—
“(9) Where the case is one to which, if paragraphs (6) and (7) did not apply, regulation 30(2)(a)(i) or (b)(i) would apply, and the first maintenance period would, under the provisions of paragraph (6), commence during the 8 week period referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of that regulation, the first maintenance period shall commence not later than 7 days after the expiry of that period of 8 weeks.”