4.—(1) The Collection and Enforcement Regulations M1 are amended as follows.

(2) For regulation 4 (intervals of payment) and its heading, substitute—

“Payments to be scheduled over reference period

4.—(1) The Secretary of State may, for the purposes of determining the frequency and amount of the payments of child support maintenance required to be made by a liable person—

(a)determine the total amount payable for the reference period on the assumption that the weekly rate of child support maintenance will not change over that period; and

(b)require that amount to be paid by equal instalments over that period at intervals determined by the Secretary of State.

(2) The reference period in relation to the maintenance calculation is, subject to paragraph (3), the period of 52 weeks mentioned in section 29(3A) of the Act beginning with—

(a)the initial effective date (where it is the first such period in relation to the maintenance calculation); or

(b)the review date.

(3) In this regulation “initial effective date” and “review date” have the meanings given by regulations 12 and 19 of the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 M2 respectively.”.

(3) In regulation 8(1) (interpretation of Part 3), in the definition of “normal deduction rate” for “week, month or other period” substitute “ month and the equivalent of that sum for a 1, 2 and 4 week period ”.

(4) For regulation 10 (normal deduction rate), substitute—

“10.—(1) The period by reference to which the normal deduction rate is set must be the period by reference to which the liable person is normally paid where that period is a 1, 2 or 4 weekly or monthly period.

(2) The employer must select the normal deduction rate which applies depending on the period by reference to which the liable person's earnings are normally paid.

(3) Where the liable person is paid by reference to a period other than at a 1, 2 or 4 weekly or monthly period, the Secretary of State must discharge the deduction from earnings order in accordance with regulation 20.”.

(5) For regulation 11 (protected earnings proportion and protected earnings rate) and its heading, substitute—

“Protected earnings proportion

11.—(1) The period by reference to which the protected earnings proportion is set must be the same as the period by reference to which the normal deduction rate is set in accordance with regulation 10(1).

(2) The protected earnings proportion in respect of any period shall be 60% of the liable person's net earnings in respect of that period as calculated at the pay-day of the liable person by the employer.”.

(6) In regulation 20 M3 (discharge of deduction from earnings orders)—

(a)omit “or” at the end of paragraph (1)(e);

(b)at the end of paragraph (1)(f) insert—

“; or

(g)the circumstances in regulation 10(3) apply.”.

(7) In regulations 25C(1)(a) (maximum deduction rate for regular deduction order) and 25G(2)(d) (review of a regular deduction order) M4 for “net” substitute “ gross ”.