Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland)

Maintenance calculations and terminology

1.—(1) In the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (NI 23) (in this Act referred to as “the Child Support Order”), for Article 13 (maintenance assessments) there shall be substituted—

“Maintenance calculations

13.—(1) An application for a maintenance calculation made to the Department shall be dealt with by it in accordance with the provision made by or under this Order.

(2) The Department shall (unless it decides not to make a maintenance calculation in response to the application, or makes a decision under Article 14) determine the application by making a decision under this Article about whether any child support maintenance is payable and, if so, how much.

(3) Where—

(a)a parent is treated under Article 9(3) as having applied for a maintenance calculation; but

(b)the Department becomes aware before determining the application that the parent has ceased to fall within Article 9(1),

it shall, subject to paragraph (4), cease to treat that parent as having applied for a maintenance calculation.

(4) If it appears to the Department that paragraph (10) of Article 7 would not have prevented the parent with care concerned from making an application for a maintenance calculation under that Article it shall—

(a)notify that parent of the effect of this paragraph; and

(b)if, before the end of the period of one month beginning with and including the day on which notice was sent to the parent with care, that parent asks the Department to do so, treat that parent as having applied not under Article 9 but under Article 7.

(5) Where paragraph (3) applies but paragraph (4) does not, the Department shall notify—

(a)the parent with care concerned; and

(b)the non-resident parent (or alleged non-resident parent), where it appears to the Department that that person is aware that the parent with care has been treated as having applied for a maintenance calculation.

(6) The amount of child support maintenance to be fixed by a maintenance calculation shall be determined in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 unless an application for a variation has been made and agreed.

(7) If the Department has agreed to a variation, the amount of child support maintenance to be fixed shall be determined on the basis it determines under Article 28F(4).

(8) Part II of Schedule 1 makes further provision with respect to maintenance calculations.”.

(2) In the Child Support Order—

(a)for “maintenance assessment”, wherever it occurs, there shall be substituted “maintenance calculation”; and

(b)for “assessment” (or any variant of that term), wherever it occurs, there shall be substituted “calculation” (or the corresponding variant) preceded, where appropriate, by “a” instead of “an”.

(3) For Part I of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order, there shall be substituted the Part I set out in Schedule 1.