Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2012 and shall come into force on 30th April 2012.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Collection and Enforcement Regulations” means the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1992( 2 );

“the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations” means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992( 3 );

“the Maintenance Assessment and Special Cases Regulations” means the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992( 4 );

“the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations” means the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 2000( 5 ); and

“the Management of Payments and Arrears Regulations” means the Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations 2009( 6 ).

Amendment of Regulation 5 of the Collection and Enforcement Regulations

2. For regulation 5(1) of the Collection and Enforcement Regulations (transmission of payments) substitute—

“ (1) Payments of child support maintenance made through the Secretary of State or other specified person shall be transmitted to the person entitled to receive them–

(a) by transfer of credit to an account nominated by the person entitled to receive the payments; or

(b) by means other than by transfer of credit as determined by the Secretary of State, where it appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary to do so in the circumstances of the particular case. ” .

Amendments of Regulation 3 of the Management of Payments and Arrears Regulations

3. In regulation 3(3) of the Management of Payments and Arrears Regulations (arrears notices), for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—

“ (a) include the amount of all outstanding arrears of child support maintenance due and not paid; ” .

Amendment of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations

4. In regulation 23( 7 ) of the Maintenance Assessment Procedure Regulations (date from which a decision is superseded), for paragraph (19) substitute—

“ (19) Where a superseding decision is made in a case to which regulation 20(2)(a) or (3) applies and the material circumstance is–

(a) a qualifying child dies or ceases to be a qualifying child;

(b) a relevant child dies or ceases to be a relevant child; or

(c) a child who is a member of the family of the absent parent for the purposes of regulation 11(1)(g) of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations 1992, dies or ceases to be a member of the family of the absent parent for those purposes,

the decision shall take effect as from the first day of the maintenance period in which the change occurred. ” .

Amendment of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations

5. In Schedule 1 to the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations (calculation of N and M – earnings), after paragraph 5A, insert—

“ CHAPTER 3 Estimate of earnings where insufficient information available

5B. —(1) Where the Commission is calculating earnings of an employed earner or a self-employed earner under Part 1 of Schedule 1 and the information available in relation to those earnings is insufficient or unreliable, the Commission may estimate those earnings and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Commission is satisfied that the person is engaged in a particular occupation, whether as an employee or a self-employed person, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the person has the average weekly earnings of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or in any part of the United Kingdom. ” .

Amendment of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations

6. —(1) The Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation), in the definition of “employed earner”–

(a) in sub-paragraph (a) omit “and”; and

(b) at the end of sub-paragraph (b) add—

“ and

a person gainfully employed outside the United Kingdom if the person’s income from that employment is chargeable to tax under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 or would be were it not for any double taxation arrangements under Part 2 of the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010. ” .

(3) In regulation 1(2), for the definition of “self-employed earner” substitute—

“ “self-employed earner” has the same meaning as in section 2(1)(b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act except that it includes a person gainfully employed otherwise than in employed earner’s employment (whether or not he is also employed in such employment)–

(4) In the Schedule (net weekly income), in paragraph 5(2), after “For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a),” insert “except for cases falling within sub-paragraph (3),”.

(5) In the Schedule, after paragraph 5(2), insert the following sub-paragraphs—

“ (3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a), where an employed earner is gainfully employed outside the United Kingdom, amounts deducted by way of income tax shall be–

(a) the amounts actually deducted in respect of income tax applicable to the income in question, whether that is paid in full in Great Britain or outside Great Britain, or partly paid both in Great Britain and outside Great Britain; or

(b) where insufficient or unreliable evidence or information is provided by the non-resident parent as to the actual amounts deducted, the amounts that would have been deducted had that employed earner been gainfully employed in Great Britain.

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b), where an employed earner is gainfully employed outside the United Kingdom, amounts deducted by way of primary Class 1 contributions ( 8 ) shall be the amounts actually deducted under the Contributions and Benefits Act or under the Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act and amounts actually deducted outside the United Kingdom for payments of a similar nature. ” .

(6) In the Schedule, after paragraph 6, insert—

“ Estimate of net weekly income of employed earner where insufficient information available

6A. —(1) Where the Commission is calculating net weekly income of an employed earner under Part II of the Schedule and the information available in relation to that income is insufficient or unreliable, the Commission may estimate that income and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Commission is satisfied that the non-resident parent is engaged in a particular occupation as an employee, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the non-resident parent has the average net weekly income of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom. ” .

(7) In the Schedule, after paragraph 9, insert—

“ Estimate of net weekly income of self-employed earner where insufficient information available

9A. —(1) Where the Commission is calculating net weekly income of a self-employed earner under Part III of the Schedule and the information available in relation to that income is insufficient or unreliable, the Commission may estimate that income and, in doing so, may make any assumptions as to any fact.

(2) Where the Commission is satisfied that the non-resident parent is engaged in a particular occupation as a self-employed earner, the assumptions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may include an assumption that the non-resident parent has the average net weekly income of a person engaged in that occupation in the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom. ” .