Statutory Rule 1999 No. 246 (C. 20)

The Social Security (1998 Order) (Commencement No. 6 and Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999

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© Crown Copyright 1999

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(a) regulation 4(5)(a) and (d) of the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999[2]; and

(b) regulation 2(9)(c)(i), (12), (18) and (22) of the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999[3].

(a) in paragraph (1)(a) "given by a child support officer" shall be omitted; and

(b) paragraph (2)(a) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations
     5. In paragraph 7A(1) of Schedule 8A to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987[5] (payments in place of payments of child support maintenance) for "a child support officer (within the meaning of Article 15 of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991)" there shall be substituted "the Department".

Amendment of the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations
     6. In regulation 56A of the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992[6] (reduced benefit direction) - 

(a) in paragraph (1)(a) "given by a child support officer" shall be omitted; and

(b) paragraph (2)(a) shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations
     7.  - (1) The Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992[7] shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (8).

    (2) In regulation 2 (persons under a duty to furnish information or evidence) - 

(a) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraph - 

    " (1) A person falling within a category listed in paragraph (2) shall furnish such information or evidence - 


(a) with respect to the matter or matters specified in that paragraph in relation to that category; and

(b) which is in his possession or which he can reasonably be expected to acquire,



as is required by the Department to enable a decision to be made under Article 13, 14, 18 or 19 of the Order."; and

(b) in paragraph (2) - 


(i) in sub-paragraph (b) "in respect of which a child support officer is conducting or proposing to conduct a review" shall be omitted, and

(ii) in sub-paragraphs (c) and (cc)[8] "and a child support officer is conducting or proposing to conduct a review of that assessment" shall be omitted.

    (3) In regulation 3(1) (purposes for which information or evidence may be required) - 

(a) "or a child support officer" shall be omitted; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (b) for "a child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (4) For regulation 3A[9] (contents of request for information or evidence) there shall be substituted the following regulation - 

" Contents of request for information or evidence
     3A. Any request by the Department in accordance with regulations 2 and 3 for the provision of information or evidence shall set out the possible consequences of failure to provide such information or evidence.".

    (5) In regulation 5[10] (time within which information or evidence is to be furnished) - 

(a) in paragraph (1) "paragraph (2) and" shall be omitted and for ", 6(1) and 16(5)" there shall be substituted "and 6(1)"; and

(b) paragraph (2) shall be omitted.

    (6) In regulation 6 (continuing duty of persons with care) "or a child support officer" shall be omitted.

    (7) In regulation 8 (disclosure of information to a court or tribunal) - 

(a) in paragraphs (1) and (3)[11] "or a child support officer" shall be omitted and for "them" there shall be substituted "it";

(b) paragraph (1)(c) shall be omitted; and

(c) in paragraph (2)[12] for "a child support appeal tribunal" there shall be substituted "an appeal tribunal".

    (8) In regulation 9A[13] (disclosure of information to other persons) - 

(a) in paragraphs (1), (3) and (4) "or a child support officer" in each place where it occurs shall be omitted;

(b) in paragraph (1) - 


(i) for "them" there shall be substituted "it", and

(ii) in sub-paragraph (a) for "review under Article 19 or 20 of the Order" there shall be substituted "revision under Article 18 of the Order or a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision";



(c) in paragraph (2) - 



(i) in sub-paragraph (b) for "regulation 3A of the Child Support Appeal Tribunals (Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993" there shall be substituted "regulation 34 of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999[14])", and

(ii) in sub-paragraph (c) for head (i) there shall be substituted the following head - 


" (i) a revision, supersession or appeal was pending at the date of death of that person and the personal representative is dealing with that revision, supersession or appeal on behalf of that person, or"; and



(d) in paragraph (4)(a) for "the child support officer concerned" there shall be substituted "the officer concerned who is exercising functions of the Department under the Order".

Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations
     8.  - (1) The Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992[15] shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

    (2) In regulation 8(3)(d)[16] (categories of interim maintenance assessment) for "him" in the first place where it occurs there shall be substituted "it".

    (3) In regulation 10(2) (notification of a new or a fresh maintenance assessment) after "Article 13, 18 or 19" there shall be inserted "of the Order".

    (4) In regulation 22(17)[17] (date from which a superseding decision takes effect) "or (d)" shall be omitted.

    (5) In regulation 34(b)[18] (periods for compliance with obligations imposed by Article 9 of the Order) for "she"and "her" in each place where they occur there shall be substituted "that parent".

    (6) In regulation 40(c)(ii)[19] (termination of reduced benefit direction) for "her" there shall be substituted "that other parent's".

Amendment of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations
     9.  - (1) The Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992[20] shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (13).

    (2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) - 

(a) in the definition of "day to day care"[21] - 


(i) in paragraph (b) for "the child support officer, a period other than 12 months but ending with the relevant week" there shall be substituted "the Department, a period other than 12 months", and

(ii) for sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph - 


" (iii) in a case where notification is given under regulation 23 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations to the relevant persons on different dates, "relevant week" means the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date of the latest notification;";



(b) in the definition of "home" for "the child support officer" and "that officer" there shall be substituted "the Department"; and

(c) for the definition of "relevant week"[22] there shall be substituted the following definition - 

" "relevant week" means - 
(a) in relation to an application for child support maintenance - 


(i) in the case of the applicant, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which the appropriate maintenance assessment application form (being an effective application within the meaning of regulation 2(4) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations) is submitted to the Department, or

(ii) in the case of a person to whom a maintenance assessment enquiry form is given or sent as the result of such an application, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which that form is given or sent to him or, as the case may be, the date on which it is treated as having been given or sent to him under regulation 1(6)(b) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations;



(b) where a decision ("the original decision") is to be - 



(i) revised under Article 18 of the Order, or

(ii) superseded by a decision under Article 19 of the Order on the basis that the original decision was made in ignorance of, or was based on a mistake as to, some material fact or was erroneous in point of law,

the period of 7 days which was the relevant week for the purposes of the original decision;



(c) where a decision ("the original decision") is to be superseded by a decision under Article 19 of the Order - 



(i) on an application made for the purpose on the basis that a material change of circumstances has occurred since the original decision was made, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which that application was made,

(ii) subject to paragraph (b), in a case where a relevant person is given notice under regulation 23 of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations, the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date of that notification,



except that where, under paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the Order, the Department makes separate maintenance assessments in respect of different periods in a particular case, because it is aware of one or more changes of circumstances which occurred after the date which is applicable to that case under paragraph (a), (b) or (c), the relevant week for the purposes of each separate maintenance assessment made to take account of each such change of circumstances, shall be the period of 7 days immediately preceding the date on which notification was given to the Department of the change of circumstances relevant to that separate maintenance assessment;".

    (3) In regulation 2(3) (calculation or estimation of amounts) for "A child support officer" there shall be substituted "The Department" and for "he" in both places where it occurs there shall be substituted "it".

    (4) In regulation 7(4) (net income: calculation or estimation of N) for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (5) In regulation 10A(2)(b)(ii)[23] (assessable income: family credit or disability working allowance paid to or in respect of a parent with care or an absent parent) for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (6) In regulation 19 (both parents are absent) - 

(a) in paragraph (3) "or to a child support officer" shall be omitted; and

(b) in paragraph (4) for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (7) In regulation 20(2)(b)(ii) (persons treated as absent parents) for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (8) In regulation 22 (multiple applications relating to an absent parent) - 

(a) in paragraph (2B)[24] for sub-paragraph (c) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph - 


" (c) any of those assessments falls to be replaced by a fresh assessment to be made under Article 18 of the Order or a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision,"; and



(b) in paragraph (2C) for "it is not reviewed under any of the provisions set out in" there shall be substituted "not within".

    (9) In Schedule 1 (calculation of N and M) - 

(a) in paragraph 1(3)(aa)[25] for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department";

(b) in paragraph 2 - 


(i) in sub-paragraphs (1)[26], (1A) and (4) for "the child support officer" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted "the Department",

(ii) in sub-paragraph (1) for "he" there shall be substituted "it", and

(iii) in sub-paragraph (3A)[27] for "a child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department";



(c) in paragraphs 2B(1)(a) and (b)[28] and 2C for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department";

(d) in paragraph 3(6A)[29] for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department";

(e) in paragraph 5 - 



(i) in sub-paragraphs (2A)[30], (3) and (5) for "the child support officer" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted "the Department", and

(ii) in sub-paragraph (2A) for "the officer" there shall be substituted "the Department" and for "he" there shall be substituted "it";



(f) in paragraph 5A(3)[31] for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department";

(g) in paragraph 16(6) for "the child support officer" in both places where it occurs there shall be substituted "the Department";

(h) in paragraphs 26, 27 and 30 for "a child support officer" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted "the Department"; and

(i) in paragraphs 27, 30 and 31 for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (10) In paragraph 2(k) of Schedule 3 (eligible housing costs) for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (11) In Schedule 3A[32] (amount to be allowed in respect of transfers of property) - 

(a) in paragraph 2(2) for "a child support officer" and "the officer" there shall be substituted "it"; and

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

     " 3.  - (1) Where an absent parent has notified the Department that he wishes it to consider whether an amount should be allowed in respect of the relevant value of a qualifying transfer, the Department shall - 


(a) give notice to the other parent of that application; and

(b) have regard in determining the application to any representations made by the other parent which are received within the period specified in sub-paragraph (2).



    (2) The period specified in this sub-paragraph is one month from the date on which the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a) was given or such longer period as the Department is satisfied is reasonable in the circumstances of the case.".

    (12) In Schedule 3B[33] (amount to be allowed in respect of travelling costs) - 

(a) in paragraph 1 in the definition of "work place" for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department"; and

(b) in paragraphs 4(b), 8(2), 10, 15(2) and 17[34] for "the child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department".

    (13) In Schedule 5[35] (provisions applying to cases to which Article 40 of the Order and regulation 28 apply) paragraphs 1 to 8 shall be omitted.

Amendment of the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations
     10.  - (1) The Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992[36] shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (6).

    (2) In regulation 3 (liability to make payments of interest with respect to arrears) - 

(a) in paragraph (4) for "following a review under Article 18, 19, 20 or 21 of the Order or" there shall be substituted "by virtue of a revision under Article 18 of the Order, a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision or of";

(b) in paragraph (5) for "following a review under Article 18, 19, 20 or 21 of the Order or" there shall be substituted "made by virtue of a revision under Article 18 of the Order, a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision or of"; and

(c) in paragraph (6) for "the review under Article 18, 19, 20 or 21 of the Order or an appeal under Article 22 of the Order results in" there shall be substituted "by virtue of a revision under Article 18 of the Order, a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision or of an appeal under Article 22 of the Order there is".

    (3) In regulation 4(2)(b) (circumstances in which no liability to pay interest arises) "or a child support officer" shall be omitted.

    (4) In regulation 10[37] (adjustment of the amount payable under a maintenance assessment) - 

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (c), in paragraphs (1) to (3) for "a child support officer" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted "the Department";

(b) in paragraph (1)(b) for "he" there shall be substituted "it";

(c) in paragraph (2) for the words from "revised as a result" to "and a fresh maintenance assessment made" there shall be substituted "replaced by a fresh maintenance assessment made by virtue of a revision under Article 18 of the Order or a decision under Article 19 of the Order superseding an earlier decision"; and

(d) in paragraph (3) for "he" in each place where it occurs there shall be substituted "it".

    (5) In regulation 11 (notifications following a cancellation or adjustment under the provisions of regulation 10) - 

(a) in paragraph (1)[38] for "a child support officer" there shall be substituted "the Department" and for "he" there shall be substituted "it"; and

(b) in paragraph (2) for the words from "of regulation 12(1)" to the end there shall be substituted "of regulations 12 to 15".

    (6) For regulations 12 to 15[39] there shall be substituted the following regulations - 

" Extension of the application of Schedule 4C to the Order
     12. Schedule 4C to the Order 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 Department - 


(a) if the Department receives an application for the revision of a decision under Article 18 of the Order as extended by regulation 12 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 Department commences action leading to the revision of a decision within one month of the date of notification of the decision; or

(d) if the Department 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 Department - 
(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 acting as such which no person outside the Department caused or to which no person outside the Department materially contributed.

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

Late application for a revision
     14.  - (1) The period of one month specified in regulation 13(1)(a) may be extended where the requirements 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 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 Department that - 



(a) it is reasonable to grant the application;

(b) the application for a decision to be revised 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 Department shall have regard to the principle that the greater the time that has elapsed between the expiry of the period 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 an 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.

    (8) In this regulation "Child Support Commissioner" includes a Child Support Commissioner appointed under section 22 of the Child Support Act 1991[40].

Date from which revised decision takes effect
     15. Where the date from which a decision took effect is found to be erroneous on a revision under Article 18 of the Order as extended by regulation 12, the revision shall take effect 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 Article 19 of the Order as extended by regulation 12, the cases and circumstances in which a decision adjusting the amount payable under a maintenance assessment may be superseded by a decision under that Article as extended are set out in paragraphs (2) to (4).

    (2) A decision may be superseded by a decision made by the Department acting on its own initiative where it 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 on a mistake as to, some material fact.



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



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

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



    (4) A decision, other than a decision made on appeal, may be superseded by a decision made by the Department - 



(a) acting on its own initiative where it 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 Article 19 of the Order as extended by regulation 12 shall not include any case or circumstance in which a decision may be revised.