Citation and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No. 11 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2013.

(2) In this Order—

“1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991( 2 );

“2000 Act” means the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000( 3 );

“2008 Act” means the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008;

“2012 Regulations” means the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012( 4 );

“new calculation rules” means Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the 1991 Act as amended by the provisions specified in article 2.

(3) In this Order, subject to paragraph (5)—

“maintenance calculation”, “non-resident parent”, “person with care” and “qualifying child” have the meanings given in the 1991 Act( 5 );

“absent parent” and “maintenance assessment” have the meanings given in the 1991 Act before its amendment by the 2000 Act.

(4) In this Order, a reference to an existing case is to a case in which there is—

(a) a maintenance assessment in force;

(b) a maintenance calculation, made otherwise than in accordance with the new calculation rules, in force;

(c) an application for a maintenance assessment which has been made but not determined; or

(d) an application for a maintenance calculation, which falls to be made otherwise than in accordance with the new calculation rules, which has been made but not determined.

(5) In this Order—

(a) a reference to a non-resident parent includes reference to a person who is—

(i) alleged to be the non-resident parent for the purposes of an application for child support maintenance under the 1991 Act, or

(ii) treated as the non-resident parent for the purposes of the 1991 Act; and

(b) a reference to an absent parent includes reference to a person who is—

(i) alleged to be the absent parent for the purposes of an application for child support maintenance under the 1991 Act, or

(ii) treated as the absent parent for the purposes of the 1991 Act.

Appointed day for the coming into effect of the new calculation rules

2. The following provisions of the 2008 Act come into force, in so far as those provisions are not already in force, on 29th July 2013 for the purposes of those types of cases falling within article 3—

(a) section 16 (changes to the calculation of maintenance) and paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 (introductory), so far as relating to the paragraphs referred to in paragraph (b);

(b) paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 to 10 of Schedule 4 (changes to the calculation of maintenance);

(c) sections 17 (power to regulate supersession) and 18 (determination of applications for a variation);

(d) section 57(1) and paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 (minor and consequential amendments), so far as relating to the paragraph referred to in paragraph (e);

(e) paragraph 1(2) and (29) of Schedule 7;

(f) section 58 (repeals), so far as relating to the entries referred to in paragraph (g); and

(g) in Schedule 8 (repeals), the entries relating to—

(i) Schedule 1 (maintenance calculations) to the 1991 Act, and

(ii) Schedule 24 (social security, child support and tax credits) to the Civil Partnership Act 2004( 6 ).

Cases to which the new calculation rules apply

3. —(1) The types of cases falling within this article, for the purposes of article 2, are those cases satisfying any of paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) A case satisfies this paragraph where—

(a) an application under section 4 or 7 of the 1991 Act( 7 ) is made to the Secretary of State on or after 29th July 2013;

(b) that application is made in respect of two or three qualifying children with the same person with care and the same non-resident parent; and

(c) subject to paragraph (5), there is no existing case which has both the same person with care and the same non-resident parent referred to in sub-paragraph (b).

(3) A case satisfies this paragraph where it is an existing case and—

(a) the non-resident parent in a case falling within paragraph (2) is also the non-resident parent or absent parent in relation to the existing case; and

(b) the person with care in relation to the existing case is not the person with care in relation to the case falling within paragraph (2).

(4) A case satisfies this paragraph where it is an existing case and—

(a) the non-resident parent or absent parent (“A”) is a partner of a non-resident parent in a case falling within paragraph (2) (“B”); and

(b) A or B is in receipt of a prescribed benefit.

(5) Where—

(a) the applicant in relation to an existing case makes a request to the Secretary of State under section 4(5) or 7(6) of the 1991 Act to cease acting; and

(b) a further application is made under section 4 or 7 of the 1991 Act in relation to the same qualifying child, person with care and non-resident parent on or after 29th July 2013, but before the expiry of 13 weeks from the date of cessation of action by the Secretary of State,

the case is to be treated as an existing case (and so is not a case that satisfies paragraph (2)).

(6) For the purposes of paragraphs (2)(a) and (5)(b), the date an application is made is—

(a) where made by telephone, the date it is made; and

(b) where made by post, the date of receipt by the Secretary of State.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (4)—

“partner” has the meaning given in paragraph 10C(4) (references to various terms) of Schedule 1 to the 1991 Act as amended by the 2000 Act( 8 );

“prescribed benefit” means a benefit prescribed, or treated as prescribed, for the purposes of paragraph 4(1)(c) (flat rate) of Schedule 1 to the 1991 Act as amended by the 2000 Act.

(8) For the purposes of paragraph (5)(b), the date of cessation of action by the Secretary of State is—

(a) where there is a maintenance assessment or maintenance calculation in force, the date on which the liability under that assessment or calculation ends as a result of the request to cease acting; and

(b) where there is an application still to be determined, the date notified to the person with care as the date on which the Secretary of State has ceased acting.

Appointed day for coming into force of a repeal within the 2008 Act

4. In Schedule 8 (repeals) of the 2008 Act, the entry relating to section 28 (pilot schemes) of the 2000 Act comes into force on 29th July 2013.

Transitional provision for existing cases

5. Where a case falls within article 3(3) or (4), the provisions of the 1991 Act continue to apply—

(a) as they were in force immediately before the coming into force of the provisions in article 2 in relation to that case;

(b) until the maintenance calculation made in response to the application referred to in article 3(2)(a) takes effect.

Amendment of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No.10 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2012

6. With effect from 29th July 2013, Article 6 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No.10 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2012( 9 ) is omitted.

Transitional provision when making the maintenance calculation

7. For the period beginning on 29th July 2013 and ending on the date on which the new calculation rules come into force for all purposes—

(a) regulation 34(2) of the 2012 Regulations (the general rule for determining gross weekly income) shall be read as if after paragraph (b) there were inserted—

“ or

(c) the Secretary of State is unable, for whatever reason, to request or obtain the required information from HMRC. ” ;

(b) regulation 42(1)(a) of the 2012 Regulations (estimate of current income where insufficient information available) shall be read as if after “34(2)(b) (historic income nil or not available)” there were inserted “or (c) (Secretary of State unable to request or obtain information from HMRC).”;

(c) regulation 69(5) of the 2012 Regulations (non-resident parent with unearned income) shall be read as if after paragraph (b) there were inserted—

“ or

(c) the Secretary of State is unable, for whatever reason, to request or obtain the information from HMRC. ” .