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(a) in paragraph (4), for the words "following a review under section 16, 17, 18 or 19 of the Act or" there shall be substituted the words "by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act, a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision or of";

(b) in paragraph (5), for the words "following a review under section 16, 17, 18 or 19 of the Act or" there shall be substituted the words "made by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act, a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision or of"; and

(c) in paragraph (6), for the words "the review under section 16, 17, 18 or 19 of the Act or an appeal under section 20 of the Act results in" there shall be substituted the words "by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act, a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision or of an appeal under section 20 of the Act there is".

Amendment of regulation 4
     25. In regulation 4(2)(b)[42] (circumstances in which no liability to pay interest arises), the words "or a child support officer" shall be omitted.

Amendment of regulation 10
     26. In regulation 10[43] (adjustment of the amount payable under a maintenance assessment) - 

(a) subject to paragraph (b) below, for the words "a child support officer" in each place in which they occur there shall be substituted the words "the Secretary of State"; and

(b) in paragraph (2), for the words from "revised as a result" to "and a fresh maintenance assessment made" there shall be substituted the words "replaced by a fresh maintenance assessment made by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act or of a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision".

Amendment of regulation 11
     27. In regulation 11[44] (notifications following a cancellation or adjustment under the provisions of regulation 10) - 

(a) in paragraph (1), for the words "a child support officer" there shall be substituted the words "the Secretary of State"; and

(b) in paragraph (2), for the words from "regulation 12(1)" (where they first occur) to the end there shall be substituted the words "regulations 12 to 15".

Substitution of regulations 12 to 15
     28. For regulations 12 to 15[45] there shall be substituted the following regulations - 

" Extension of the application of Schedule 4C to the Act
     12. Schedule 4C to the Act is hereby extended so that it applies to any decision with respect to the adjustment of amounts payable under maintenance assessments for the purpose of taking account of overpayments of child support maintenance.

Revision of decisions
     13.  - (1) A decision may be revised by the Secretary of State - 


(a) if the Secretary of State receives an application for the revision of a decision under section 16 of the Act as extended by regulation 12 above within one month of the date of notification of the decision or within such longer time as may be allowed by regulation 14;

(b) if the decision arose from an official error;

(c) if the Secretary of State commences action leading to the revision of a decision within one month of the date of notification of the decision; or

(d) if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the original decision was erroneous due to a misrepresentation of, or failure to disclose, a material fact and that the decision was more advantageous to the person who misrepresented or failed to disclose that fact than it would otherwise have been but for that error.



    (2) In paragraph (1) - 



"decision" means a decision of the Secretary of State - 
(a) adjusting the amount payable under a maintenance assessment; or

(b) cancelling an adjustment of an amount payable under a maintenance assessment,



under regulation 10 and a decision superseding such a decision;



"official error" means an error made by an officer of the Department of Social Security acting as such which no person outside that Department caused or to which no person outside that Department materially contributed.

    (3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in respect of a change of circumstances which occurred since the date as from which the decision had effect.

Late application for revision
     14.  - (1) The period of one month specified in regulation 13(1)(a) may be extended where the conditions specified in the following provisions of this regulation are satisfied.

    (2) An application for an extension of time shall be made by a relevant person or a person acting on his behalf.

    (3) An application for an extension of time under this regulation shall - 



(a) be made within 13 months of the date on which notification of the decision which it is sought to have revised was given or sent; and

(b) contain particulars of the grounds on which the extension of time is sought and shall contain sufficient details of the decision which it is sought to have revised to enable that decision to be identified.



    (4) An application for an extension of time shall not be granted unless the person making the application or any person acting for him satisfies the Secretary of State that - 



(a) it is reasonable to grant the application;

(b) the application for a revision has merit; and

(c) special circumstances are relevant to the application for an extension of time and as a result of those special circumstances, it was not practicable for the application for a decision to be revised to be made within one month of the date of notification of the decision which it is sought to have revised.



    (5) In determining whether it is reasonable to grant an application for an extension of time, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the principle that the greater the time that has elapsed between the expiration of one month described in regulation 13(1)(a) from the date of notification of the decision which it is sought to have revised and the making of the application for an extension of time, the more compelling should be the special circumstances on which the application is based.

    (6) In determining whether it is reasonable to grant the application for an extension of time, no account shall be taken of the following - 



(a) that the person making the application for an extension of time or any person acting for him was unaware of or misunderstood the law applicable to his case (including ignorance or misunderstanding of the time limits imposed by these Regulations); or

(b) that a Child Support Commissioner or a court has taken a different view of the law from that previously understood and applied.



    (7) An application under this regulation for an extension of time which has been refused may not be renewed.

Date from which revised decision takes effect
     15. Where the date as from which a decision took effect is found to be erroneous on a revision under section 16 of the Act as extended by regulation 12 above, the revision shall take effect as from the date on which the revised decision would have taken effect had the error not been made.

Supersession of decisions
     16.  - (1) For the purposes of section 17 of the Act as extended by regulation 12 above, the cases and circumstances in which a decision adjusting the amount payable under a maintenance assessment may be superseded by a decision under that section as extended are set out in paragraphs (2) to (4).

    (2) A decision may be superseded by a decision made by the Secretary of State acting on his own initiative where he is satisfied that the decision - 



(a) is one in respect of which there has been a material change of circumstances since the decision was made; or

(b) was made in ignorance of, or was based upon a mistake as to, some material fact.



    (3) A decision may be superseded by a decision made by the Secretary of State where an application is made on the basis that - 



(a) there has been a change of circumstances since the decision was made and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the change of circumstances is or would be material; or

(b) the decision was made in ignorance of, or was based upon a mistake as to, a fact and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the fact is or would be material.



    (4) A decision, other than a decision given on appeal, may be superseded by a decision made by the Secretary of State - 



(a) acting on his own initiative where he is satisfied that the decision was erroneous in point of law; or

(b) where an application is made on the basis that the decision was erroneous in point of law.



    (5) The cases and circumstances in which a decision may be superseded under section 17 of the Act as extended by regulation 12 above shall not include any case or circumstance in which a decision may be revised.

Application of regulations 1(6), 10(3) and 53 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations
     17.  - (1) The provisions of regulation 10(3) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations shall apply to any notification - 



(a) under regulation 11; and

(b) of a decision under the provisions of regulation 13, 14 or 16.



    (2) Regulations 1(6) and 53 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations shall apply to the provisions of these Regulations.".

    " (4) Where there is a liability to make payments of child support maintenance but no maintenance assessment is in force - 


(a) in a case where the last maintenance assessment was a Category A or Category C interim maintenance assessment, the protected earnings rate shall be the amount which would be produced by the application of the provisions of paragraph (3) if a Category A or Category C interim maintenance assessment were in force;

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (a), in a case where the absent parent provides sufficient evidence to satisfy the Secretary of State that his circumstances have changed since the last occasion on which his exempt income was calculated for the purposes of a decision under the Act, the protected earnings rate shall be the exempt amount as it would be calculated in consequence of that change of circumstances if regulation 9 of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992[47] applied in his case; and

(c) in any other case, the protected earnings rate shall be the amount of the liable person's exempt income as it was on the last occasion that amount was calculated for the purposes of a decision under the Act.".

(a) in paragraph 6, in the definition of "formula amount" and in paragraph 8, for the words "consequent on a review under section 17, 18 or 19 of the Act" there shall be substituted the words "by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act or a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision";

(b) in paragraph 10, for the words "a child support officer" there shall be substituted the words "the Secretary of State"; and

(c) in paragraph 12 - 


(i) in sub-paragraph (1), for the words "there is a review of a previous assessment under section 17 of the Act (reviews on change of circumstances)" there shall be substituted the words "a decision is made under section 17 of the Act which supersedes an earlier decision on the ground that there has been a material change of circumstances since the decision took effect";

(ii) in sub-paragraph (2), for the words "child support officer determines that, were a fresh assessment to be made as a result of the review" there shall be substituted the words "Secretary of State determines that, were a fresh assessment to be made by virtue of a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision"; and

(iii) in sub-paragraph (3), for the words "child support officer" there shall be substituted the words "Secretary of State" and for the words "20 to" there shall be substituted the words "21 and".

Amendment of regulation 10
     33. In regulation 10 (procedure) - 

(a) in paragraph (1), after the words "of the Act" there shall be inserted the words "before 1st June 1999 or an application on or after that date for a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision"; and

(b) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted the following paragraph - 

    " (3) Regulation 10(2) of the Procedure Regulations shall not apply in respect of a decision made solely for the purpose of applying Part III of these Regulations but instead the Secretary of State shall notify the relevant persons (as defined in regulation 1(2) of the Procedure Regulations) of the detail of how the provisions of Part III of these Regulations have been applied in that case.".

Substitution of regulation 11
     34. For regulation 11[49] (reviews) there shall be substituted the following regulation - 

" Revision and supersession
     11.  - (1) The provisions of the following paragraphs shall apply where the Secretary of State proposes to make a decision under section 16 (revision of decisions) or 17 (decisions superseding earlier decisions) of the Act with respect to a maintenance assessment under which the amount payable was the transitional amount.

    (2) Where a fresh maintenance assessment would be made by virtue of a decision under section 16 or 17 of the Act and the amount payable under that assessment (disregarding the provisions of Part III of these Regulations) (in this regulation called "the new formula amount") would be - 


(a) more than the formula amount, the amount of child support maintenance payable shall be the transitional amount plus the difference between the formula amount and the new formula amount;

(b) less than the formula amount but more than the transitional amount, the amount of the child support maintenance payable shall be the transitional amount;

(c) less than the transitional amount, the amount of child support maintenance payable shall be the new formula amount.



    (3) Regulations 21 and 22 of the Procedure Regulations shall apply as if the new formula amount were the amount which would be fixed in accordance with a decision superseding an earlier decision.

    (4) Where the effective date of a fresh maintenance assessment made by virtue of a revision under section 16 of the Act or of a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision would, apart from this regulation, be before 18th April 1995 - 



(a) the fresh maintenance assessment; and

(b) the decision under section 16 or, as the case may be, section 17,



shall have effect as from 18th April 1995.".

Substitution of regulation 12
     35. For regulation 12 (reviews consequent on the amendments made by Part II) there shall be substituted the following regulation - 

" Decisions consequent on the amendments made by Part II
     12.  - (1) A fresh maintenance assessment shall not be made by virtue of a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision in consequence only of the amendments made by Part II of these Regulations where the amount of child support maintenance fixed by the assessment currently in force and the amount that would be fixed if a fresh assessment were to be made under that section is less than £1.00 a week.

    (2) Except in relation to the amendment made by regulation 4(8) above, where a fresh maintenance assessment is made by virtue of a decision under section 17 of the Act superseding an earlier decision in consequence only of the amendments made by Part II of these Regulations, the date as from which - 


(a) the fresh maintenance assessment; and

(b) the decision under section 16 or, as the case may be, section 17,



shall have effect shall be 7th February 1994.".

Revocation of regulations 13 and 14
     36. Regulations 13 (reviews consequent on the provisions of Part III) and 14 (notification) are hereby revoked.

Amendment of regulation 64
     38. In regulation 64 (transitional provisions) - 

(a) in paragraph (3), for the words from "a child support officer" to the end there shall be substituted the words "a relevant person applies for a decision under section 17 of the Child Support Act 1991 superseding an earlier decision on the ground that a qualifying transfer of property has been made or that he has travelling costs."; and

(b) in paragraph (4) - 


(i) in sub-paragraph (a), for the words "a review of" there shall be substituted the words "a decision under section 17 of the Child Support Act 1991 superseding a decision with respect to"; and

(ii) for sub-paragraph (b), there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph - 


" (b) a decision under regulation 13 or 16 of the Arrears Regulations is made on an application made by a relevant person.".

[42] Regulation 4 was amended by S.I. 1993/913 and 1995/1045.back

[43] Regulation 10 was substituted by S.I. 1995/1045 and amended by S.I. 1996/2907 and 1998/2799.back

[44] Regulation 11 was amended by S.I. 1995/1045.back

[45] Regulation 12 was substituted by S.I. 1995/1045 and amended by S.I. 1995/3261. Regulation 13 was amended by S.I. 1993/913, 1995/1045 and 1995/3261.back

[46] Paragraph (4) of regulation 11 was added by S.I. 1995/1045 and amended by S.I. 1998/2799.back

[47] S.I. 1992/1815; regulation 9 was amended by S.I. 1993/913, 1995/1045, 1995/3261, 1996/1803, 1996/1945, 1996/2907 and 1998/58.back

[48] S.I. 1992/2644; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1993/966.back

[49] Regulation 11 was amended by S.I. 1995/1045 and 1995/3261.back