Citation, commencement, interpretation and transitional provision

1.  These Rules may be cited as the Family Proceedings Courts (Child Support Act 1991) Rules 1993 and shall come into force on 5th April 1993.

2.  In these rules—

“the Act of 1991” means the Child Support Act 1991(2),

“court” means a family proceedings court constituted in accordance with section 66 and 67 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980(3) or a single justice who is a member of a family panel.

3.  Rules 6 to 8 shall apply only to applications filed on or after 5th April 1993.

4.—(1) Rules 2 to 16 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc) Rules 1991(4) shall apply as appropriate to an appeal under section 20 (appeal against decision of child support officer), where the proceedings are to be dealt with in accordance with the Child Support Appeals (Jurisdiction of Courts) Order 1993(5) and an application under section 27 of the Act of 1991 (reference to court for declaration of parentage).

(2) The respondent to an appeal under section 20 of the Act of 1991 shall be the Secretary of State.

(3) The respondent to an application under section 27 of the Act of 1991 shall be the alleged parent (as defined in section 27 of that Act).

(4) Where the justices' clerk or the court is considering whether or not to transfer proceedings under sections 20 or 27 of the Act of 1991 to another court, rules 6, 14(2)(h), (4) and (11) and rule 32 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991(6) shall also apply as appropriate.

Disclosure of information under the Act of 1991

5.  Where the Secretary of State requires a person mentioned in regulation 2(2) or (3)(a) of the Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations 1992(7) to furnish information or evidence for a purpose mentioned in regulation 3(1) of those Regulations, nothing in rule 23 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991 or rule 14 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc) Rules 1991 (confidentiality of documents) shall prevent that person from furnishing the information or evidence sought or shall require him to seek leave of the court before doing so.

Applications for relief which is precluded by the Act of 1991

6.—(1) Where an application is made for an order which, in the opinion of the justices' clerk, the court would be prevented from making by section 8 or 9 of the Act of 1991, he may send a notice in the appropriate form to the applicant and the provisions of rule 4(1) to (3) of the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc) Rules 1991 (service) shall apply as appropriate.

(2) Where a notice is sent under paragraph (1), no requirement of any rules, except for those of this rule, as to the service of the application or as to any other procedural step applicable to the making of an application of the type in question, shall apply unless and until the court directs that such rules shall apply or that they shall apply to such extent and subject to such modifications as may be specified in the direction.

(3) Where an applicant who has been sent a notice under paragraph (1) informs the justices' clerk in writing, within 14 days of the date of service of the notice, that he wishes to persist with his application, the justices' clerk shall give such directions as he considers appropriate for the matter to be heard and determined by the court and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such directions may provide for the hearing to be ex parte.

(4) Where directions are given under paragraph (3), the justices' clerk shall inform the applicant of the directions and, in relation to the other parties,—

(a)where the hearing is to be ex parte, inform them briefly—

(i)of the nature and effect of the notice under this rule,

(ii)that the matter is being resolved ex parte, and

(iii)that they will be informed of the result in due course; and

(b)where the hearing is to be inter partes, inform them of—

(i)the circumstances which led to the directions being given, and

(ii)the directions.

(5) Where a notice has been sent under paragraph (1) and the justices' clerk is not informed under paragraph (3) the application shall be treated as having been withdrawn.

(6) Where the matter is heard pursuant to directions under paragraph (3) and the court determines that it would be prevented by section 8 or 9 of the Act of 1991 from making the order sought by the application, it shall dismiss the application.

(7) Where the court dismisses an application under this rule it shall give its reasons in writing, copies of which shall be sent to the parties by the justices' clerk.

(8) In this rule, ‘the matter’ means the question whether the making of an order in the terms sought by the application would be prevented by section 8 or 9 of the Act of 1991.

(9) Rule 15 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc) Rules 1991 (delegation by justices' clerk) shall apply as appropriate to anything authorised to be done by or to a justices' clerk under this rule or rule 7.

Modification of rule 6 in relation to non-free standing applications

7.  Where a notice is sent under rule 6(1) in respect of an application which is contained in an application, answer or other document (“the document”) which contains material extrinsic to the application—

(a)the document shall, until the contrary is directed under sub-paragraph (c) of this rule, be treated as if it did not contain the application in respect of which the notice was served;

(b)the justices' clerk shall send to the respondents a copy of the notice under rule 6 (1) and a notice informing the respondents of the effect of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph; and

(c)if it is determined, under rule 6, that the court would not be prevented by section 8 or 9 of the Act of 1991 from making the order sought by the application, the court shall direct that the document shall be treated as if it contained the application, and it may give such directions as it considers appropriate for the conduct of the proceedings in consequence of that direction.

Forms

8.  Appendix 1 to these Rules (new form CSA1) shall have effect.

9.  In rules 10 to 12 of these Rules, references to a form—

(a)by number with the prefix ‘CHA’ are references to the forms so numbered in Schedule 1 to the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991; and

(b)by number alone are references to the forms so numbered in Schedule 1 to the Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings etc) Rules 1991.

10.  For Form CHA13(8) there shall be substituted the form contained in Appendix 2 to these Rules.

11.—(1) The amendments in paragraph (2) shall be made to—

(a)Form CHA14 (Statement of Means)(9);

(b)Form 1 (Application for Order Under Section 2), Form 2 (Application for Order Under Section 6), Form 3 (Application for Order Under Section 7) and Form 4 (Application for Order Under Section 20)(10), in the Statement of Means of the Applicant and the Statement of Means of the Respondent respectively.

(2) The forms mentioned in paragraph (1) are amended as follows:—

(a)in section 6, after “Other state benefit(s)” there shall be inserted “Child Support Agency maintenance”;

(b)in section 7, after “pocket money” there shall be inserted “Child Support Agency payments”;

(c)in section 9, after “Other” there shall be inserted “Child Support Agency arrears”;

(d)in sections 7 and 9, for “Community charge” there shall be substituted “Council tax”(11).

12.  In form CHA15 (Application for Variation/Discharge of an Order for Financial Provision)(12), there shall be substituted for section 4 the provision contained in Appendix 3 to these Rules.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules make provision for proceedings in Family Proceedings Courts arising under, or affected by, the Child Support Act 1991. They—

(a)prescribe the procedure for appeals under section 20 and applications under section 27 of the Act in respect of parentage issues (rule 4);

(b)remove the restrictions on disclosure of information relating to court proceedings of which relevant information is sought by the Secretary of State in connection with certain of his functions under the Act (rule 5);

(c)prescribe the procedure where it appears to the court that it may be precluded from exercising jurisdiction by the Act (rules 6 and 7); and

(d)amend various forms to elicit information about maintenance assessments made under the Act (rules 8 to 12).

APPENDIX 1

Rule 8

Appendix 2

Rule 10

Application for Financial Provision for Children

Appendix 3

Rule 12