Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and shall come into operation on 30th April 2012.

Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations

2.  In regulation 22 of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(3) (date from which a superseding decision takes effect) for paragraph (19) substitute—

“(19) Where a superseding decision is made in a case to which regulation 19(2)(a) or (3) applies and the material circumstance is—

(a)a qualifying child dies or ceases to be a qualifying child;

(b)a relevant child dies or ceases to be a relevant child; or

(c)a child who is a member of the family of the absent parent for the purposes of regulation 11(1)(g) of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, dies or ceases to be a member of the family of the absent parent for those purposes,

the decision shall take effect as from the first day of the maintenance period in which the change occurred.”.

Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations

3.  In Schedule 1 to the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(4) (calculation of N and M) after paragraph 5A insert—

“CHAPTER 3

Estimate of earnings where insufficient information available

5B.—(1) Where the Department is calculating earnings of an employed earner or a self-employed earner under this Part and the information available in relation to those earnings is insufficient or unreliable, the Department may estimate those earnings and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Department is satisfied that the person is engaged in a particular occupation, whether as an employee or a self-employed person, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the person has the average weekly earnings of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or in any part of the United Kingdom.”.

Amendment of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations

4.  In regulation 5 of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(5) (transmission of payments) for paragraph (1) substitute—

“(1) Payments of child support maintenance made through the Department or other specified person shall be transmitted to the person entitled to receive them—

(a)by transfer of credit to an account nominated by the person entitled to receive the payments; or

(b)by means other than by transfer of credit as determined by the Department, where it appears to the Department to be necessary to do so in the circumstances of the particular case.”.

Amendments of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations

5.—(1) The Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(6) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation)—

(a)for the definition of “employed earner” substitute—

““employed earner” has the same meaning as in section 2(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act except that it includes a person—

(b)for the definition of “self-employed earner” substitute—

““self-employed earner” has the same meaning as in section 2(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act except that it includes a person gainfully employed otherwise than in employed earner’s employment (whether or not he is also employed in such employment)—

(3) In the Schedule (net weekly income)—

(a)in paragraph 5(deductions)—

(i)in sub-paragraph (2) after “For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a),” insert “except for cases falling within sub-paragraph (3),”.

(ii)for sub-paragraph (3) substitute—

“(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a), where an employed earner is gainfully employed outside of the United Kingdom, amounts deducted by way of income tax shall be—

(a)the amounts actually deducted in respect to income tax applicable to the income in question, whether that is paid in full in Northern Ireland or outside Northern Ireland, or partly paid both in Northern Ireland and outside of Northern Ireland; or

(b)where insufficient or unreliable evidence or information is provided by the non-resident parent as to the actual amounts deducted, the amounts that would have been deducted had that employed earner been gainfully employed in Northern Ireland.

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph(1)(b), where an employed earner is gainfully employed outside the United Kingdom, amounts deducted by way of primary Class 1 contributions shall be the amounts actually deducted under the Contributions and Benefits Act or under the Great Britain Contributions and Benefits Act and amounts actually deducted outside the United Kingdom for payments of a similar nature.”.

(b)after paragraph 6(11) (calculation or estimate) insert—

“Estimate of net weekly income of employed earner where insufficient information available

6A.—(1) Where the Department is calculating net weekly income of an employed earner under this Part and the information available in relation to that income is insufficient or unreliable, the Department may estimate that income and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Department is satisfied that the non-resident parent is engaged in a particular occupation as an employee, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the non-resident parent has the average net weekly income of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom.”.

(c)after paragraph 9(12) (rules for calculation under paragraph 8) insert—

“Estimate of net weekly income of self-employed earner where insufficient information available

9A.—(1) Where the Department is calculating net weekly income of a self-employed earner under this Part and the information available in relation to that income is insufficient or unreliable, the Department may estimate that income and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Department is satisfied that the non-resident parent is engaged in a particular occupation as a self-employed earner, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the non-resident parent has the average net weekly income of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom.”

Amendment of the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations

6.  In regulation 3(3) of the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009(13) (arrears notices) for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a)include the amount of all outstanding arrears of child support maintenance due and not paid;”.

Revocation

7.  Regulation 2(4)(b) of the Child Support and Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011(14) is revoked.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 22 of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 to provide an effective date for a superseding decision made in a case to which regulation 19(2)(a) or (3) of those Regulations applies, that is, where the Department for Social Development (“the Department”) is satisfied that the decision is one in respect of which there has been a material change of circumstances since the decision was made, and the material change of circumstance is any of the following, namely a qualifying child dies or ceases to be a qualifying child; a relevant child dies or ceases to be a relevant child; or a child, who is a member of the family of the absent parent, dies or ceases to be a member of the family of the absent parent.

Regulation 3 amends Schedule 1 to the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 by inserting a new paragraph 5B which provides that where the Department is calculating earnings of an employed earner or self-employed earner and the information in relation to those earnings is insufficient or unreliable the Department may estimate those earnings and may make any assumption as to any fact.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 5(1) of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 to provide that payments of child support maintenance made through the Department shall be made to the person entitled to receive those payments by transfer of credit. Other methods of payment will only be used where it appears to the Department necessary in the circumstances of the particular case.

Regulation 5 amends the definition of “employed earner” and “self-employed earner” in regulation 1(2) of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 to include a person gainfully employed outside the United Kingdom in certain specified circumstances. It also amends the Schedule to make similar provision to that made by regulation 3 of these Regulations.

Regulation 6 amends the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 in relation to arrears notices by removing the requirement to itemise the payments of child support maintenance due and not paid and replacing this with a requirement that any arrears notice must include the amount of all outstanding arrears of child support maintenance due and not paid.

Regulation 7 makes a consequential revocation.