The Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2000

Made: 4th December 2000

Laid before Parliament: 6th December 2000

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 16, 17, 51(1), 52 and 54 of the Child Support Act 1991 and section 29 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on the day on which section 29 of the 2000 Act comes fully into force.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In Parts I to III and V except where otherwise stated—

• “the Act" means the Child Support Act 1991;

• “the Arrears, Interest and Adjustment Regulations” means the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations 1992;

• “the Assessment Calculation Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992 ;

• “the Assessment Procedure Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992 ;

• “the 2000 Act" means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000;

• “calculation date" means the date the Secretary of State makes a conversion decision;

• “capped amount" means the amount of income for the purposes of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act where that income is limited by the application of paragraph 10(3) of that Schedule;

• “case conversion date" means the effective date for the conversion of the non-resident parent’s liability to pay child support maintenance from the rate as determined under the former Act and Regulations made under that Act, as provided for in regulation 15;

• “commencement date" means the date on which section 1 of the 2000 Act, which amends section 11 of the Act, comes into force for the purposes of maintenance calculations the effective date of which, were they maintenance assessments, applying regulation 30 or 33(7) (but not regulation 8C or 30A) of the Assessment Procedure Regulations or regulation 3(5), (7) or (8) of the Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations, and subject to paragraph (2), would be the same as or later than the date prescribed for the purposes of section 4(10)(a) of the Act ;

• “conversion calculation" means the calculation made in accordance with regulation 16;

• “conversion date" means the date on which section 1 of the 2000 Act, which amends section 11 of the Act, comes into force for all purposes;

• “conversion decision" means the decision under regulation 3(1) or (4);

• “Decisions and Appeals Regulations" means the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 ;

• “departure direction" has the meaning given in section 54 of the former Act;

• “Departure Regulations" means the Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations 1996 ;

• “first prescribed amount" means the amount stated in or prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act (flat rate for non-resident parent in receipt of benefit, pension or allowance);

• “former Act" means the Act prior to its amendment by the 2000 Act;

• “former assessment amount" means the amount of child support maintenance payable under a maintenance assessment on the calculation date excluding amounts payable in respect of arrears or reductions for overpayments;

• “interim maintenance assessment" has the meaning given in section 54 of the former Act;

• “Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992 ...;

• “maintenance assessment" has the meaning given in section 54 of the former Act other than an interim maintenance assessment;

• “Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 2000 ;

• “maintenance period" has the meaning given in regulation 33 of the Assessment Procedure Regulations and, where in relation to a non-resident parent there is in force on the calculation date more than one maintenance assessment with more than one maintenance period, the first maintenance period to begin on or after the conversion date;

• “maximum transitional amount" has the meaning given in regulation 25(5), (6) or (7), whichever is applicable;

• “new amount" means the amount of child support maintenance payable in from the case conversion date;

• “partner" means, where there is a couple, the other member of that couple, and “couple" for this purpose has the same meaning as in paragraph 10C(5) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act;

• “phasing amount" means the amount determined in accordance with regulation 24;

• “relevant departure direction" and “relevant property transfer" have the meanings given in regulation 17;

• “relevant other children" has the meaning given in paragraph 10C(2) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act and Regulations made under that paragraph;

• “second prescribed amount" means the amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 4(2) of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act (flat rate for non-resident parent who has a partner and who is in receipt of certain benefits);

• “subsequent decision" means—any decision under section 16 or 17 of the Act to revise or supersede a conversion decision; orany such revision or supersession as decided on appeal,whether as originally made or as revised under section 16 of the Act or decided on appeal;

• “subsequent decision amount" means the amount of child support maintenance liability resulting from a subsequent decision;

• “transitional amount" means the amount of child support maintenance payable during the transitional period;

• “transitional period" means—the period from the case conversion date to the end of the last complete maintenance period which falls immediately prior to the—fifth anniversary of the case conversion date; orfirst anniversary of the case conversion date where regulation 12(1), (2), (4) or (5) or 13 applies; orif earlier, the period from the case conversion date up to the date when the amount of child support maintenance payable by the non-resident parent is equal to the new amount or the subsequent decision amount, as the case may be; and

• “the Variations Regulations" means the Child Support (Variations) Regulations 2000 .

• (2) For the purposes of the definition of “commencement date" in paragraph (1)—

• (a) in the application of the Assessment Procedure Regulations, where no maintenance enquiry form, as defined in those Regulations, is given or sent to the non-resident parent, the Regulations shall be applied as if references in regulation 30 of those Regulations—

• (i) to the date when the maintenance enquiry form was given or sent to the non-resident parent were to the date on which the non-resident parent is first notified by the Secretary of State, orally or in writing, that an application for child support maintenance has been made in respect of which he is named as the non-resident parent; and

• (ii) to the return by the non-resident parent of the maintenance enquiry form containing his name, address and written confirmation that he is the parent of the child or children in respect of whom the application was made, were to the provision of this information by the non-resident parent; or

• (b) in the application of the Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction Regulations, where no maintenance enquiry form, as defined in the Assessment Procedure Regulations, is given or sent to the non-resident parent, regulation 3(8) shall apply as if the reference to the date when the maintenance enquiry form was given or sent were to the date on which the non-resident parent is first notified by the Secretary of State, orally or in writing, that an application for child support maintenance has been made in respect of which he is named as the non-resident parent.

• (3) In these Regulations any reference to a numbered Part is to the Part of these Regulations bearing that number, any reference to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that regulation bearing that number.

PART II — DECISION MAKING AND APPEALS

Decision and notice of decision

3

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a decision as to the amount of child support maintenance payable under a maintenance assessment or an interim maintenance assessment made under section 11, 12, 16, 17 or 20 of the former Act may be superseded by the Secretary of State on his own initiative under section 17 of the Act, in relation to—

• (a) a maintenance assessment (whenever made) which ... is in force on the calculation date;

• (b) a maintenance assessment made following an application for child support maintenance which is made ... as provided for in regulation 28(1);

• (c) an interim maintenance assessment (whenever made)where there is sufficient information held by the Secretary of State to make a decision in accordance with this paragraph.

• (2) Where the Secretary of State acts in accordance with paragraph (1), the information used for the purposes of that supersession will be—

• (a) that held by the Secretary of State on the calculation date; or

• (b) where—

• (i) regulation 5(b) applies; and

• (ii) the Secretary of State is unable to make the decision required to be made in accordance with that regulation on the basis of the information referred to in sub-paragraph (a),

that which was used or considered to make the maintenance assessment to be superseded in accordance with regulation 3(1)(a) or (b).

• (3) Where a superseding decision referred to in paragraph (1) is made the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) make a conversion calculation;

• (b) calculate a new amount; and

• (c) notify to the non-resident parent and the person with care and, where the maintenance assessment was made in response to an application under section 7 of the former Act, the child, in writing—

• (i) the new amount;

• (ii) where appropriate, the transitional amount;

• (iii) any phasing amount applied in the calculation of the transitional amount;

• (iv) the length of the transitional period;

• (v) the date the conversion decision was made;

• (vi) the effective date of the conversion decision;

• (vii) the non-resident parent’s net weekly income;

• (viii) the number of qualifying children;

• (ix) the number of relevant other children;

• (x) where there is an adjustment for apportionment or shared care, or both, or under regulation 9 or 11 of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations, the amount calculated in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act and those Regulations;

• (xi) any relevant departure direction or relevant property transfer taken into account in the conversion decision; and

• (xii) any apportionment carried out in accordance with regulation 25(3).

• (4) Where at the calculation date there is an interim maintenance assessment in force and there is insufficient information held by the Secretary of State to make a maintenance assessment, or a decision in accordance with paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) supersede the interim maintenance assessment to make a default maintenance decision; and

• (b) notify the non-resident parent, the person with care and, where the maintenance assessment was made in response to an application under section 7, the child, in writing, in accordance with regulation 15C(2) of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations.

• (5) In a case to which paragraph (1)(c) or (4) applies, where after the calculation date information is made available to the Secretary of State to enable him to make a maintenance assessment he may—

• (a) where the decision was made under paragraph (1)(c), revise the interim maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations, and supersede the conversion decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations;

• (b) where the decision was made under paragraph (4), revise the interim maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations, and revise the default maintenance decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations.

• (6) A decision referred to in paragraph (1) or (4) shall take effect from the case conversion date.

Revision, supersession and appeal of conversion decisions

4

• (1) Subject to this Part, where—

• (a) an application is made to the Secretary of State or he acts on his own initiative to revise or supersede a conversion decision; or

• (b) there is an appeal in respect of a conversion decision,

such application, action or appeal shall be decided under the Decisions and Appeals Regulations and except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), notification shall be given in accordance with regulation 3(3).

• (2) Where the Secretary of State acts in accordance with paragraph (1) he shall notify—

• (a) in relation to regulation 3(3)(c)(i), the subsequent decision amount in place of the new amount; and

• (b) where there has been agreement to a variation or a variation has otherwise been taken into account, the amounts calculated in accordance with the Variations Regulations.

• (3) Where after the calculation date—

• (a) an application is made to the Secretary of State or he acts on his own initiative to revise or supersede a maintenance assessment, an interim maintenance assessment or departure direction; or

• (b) there is an appeal in respect of a maintenance assessment, an interim maintenance assessment or departure direction; and

• (c) such application, action or appeal has been decided in accordance with regulations made under the former Act for the determination of such applications,

the Secretary of State may revise or supersede the conversion decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations.

• (4) In their application to a decision referred to in these Regulations, the Decisions and Appeals Regulations shall be modified so as to provide—

• (a) on any revision or supersession of a conversion decision under section 16 or 17 respectively of the Act, that—

• (i) the conversion decision may include a relevant departure direction or relevant property transfer; and

• (ii) the effective date of the revision or supersession shall be as determined under the Decisions and Appeals Regulations or the case conversion date, whichever is the later;

• (b) on any appeal in respect of a conversion decision under section 16 or 17 respectively of the Act, that the time within which the appeal must be brought shall be—

• (i) within the time from the date of notification of the conversion decision against which the appeal is brought, to one month after the case conversion date of that decision; or

• (ii) as determined under the Decisions and Appeals Regulations,

whichever is the later.

• (5) In this Part, for the purposes of any revision or supersession a conversion decision shall include a subsequent decision.

Outstanding applications at calculation date

5

Where at the calculation date there is outstanding an application for a maintenance assessment or a departure direction, or under section 16 or 17 of the former Act for the revision or supersession of a maintenance assessment, an interim maintenance assessment or a departure direction, the Secretary of State may—

• (a) where the application has been finally decided in accordance with Regulations made under the former Act for deciding such applications, supersede the maintenance assessment in accordance with regulation 3; or

• (b) where he is unable to make a final decision on the application for—

• (i) a departure direction; or

• (ii) a revision or supersession,

supersede the maintenance assessment or the interim maintenance assessment in accordance with regulation 3.

Applications for a departure direction or a variation made after calculation date

6

• (1) Where an application for a departure direction or a variation is made after notification of the conversion decision the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) where the grounds of the application are subject only to a decision under the Departure Regulations, make a decision under the Departure Regulations;

• (b) where the grounds of the application are subject to a decision or determination, as the case may be, under—

• (i) the Departure Regulations; and

• (ii) the Variations Regulations,

make a decision under the Departure Regulations; or

• (c) where the grounds of the application are subject only to a determination under the Variations Regulations, treat the application as an advance application for a variation.

• (2) Where the Secretary of State has made a decision or a determination in which he agrees to the departure direction or variation applied for as provided under paragraph(1) he shall—

• (a) where the decision is made under paragraph (1)(a), supersede the maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations and the conversion decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations;

• (b) where the decision is made under paragraph (1)(b), supersede the maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations and the conversion decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations to give effect to any relevant departure direction, and from the case conversion date any variation, in the decision; or