Citation and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No. 14 and Transitional Provisions) and the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 18 and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2014.

(2) In this Order—

“1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991( 3 );

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

“maintenance assessment” has the meaning given in section 54 (interpretation) of the 1991 Act before its substitution by section 26 (amendments) of, and paragraph 11(1) and (20)(d) of Schedule 3 (amendment of enactments) to, the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000( 4 );

“maintenance calculation” has the meaning given in section 54 of the 1991 Act( 5 );

“new calculation rules” means Part 1 of Schedule 1 (calculation of weekly amount of child support maintenance) to the 1991 Act as amended by paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 (calculation by reference to gross weekly income) to the 2008 Act;

“transition period” has the meaning given in regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation) of the Child Support (Ending Liability in Existing Cases and Transition to New Calculation Rules) Regulations 2014( 6 ).

(3) 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.

Appointed day for provisions of the 2008 Act

2.Section 19 (transfer of cases to new rules) of, and Schedule 5 (maintenance calculations: transfer of cases to new rules)( 7 ) to, the 2008 Act come into force for all purposes, in so far as those provisions are not already in force, on 30th June 2014.

Thirteen week linking rule in relation to certain cases

3. —(1) This article has effect from 30th June 2014.

(2) Where—

(a) the Secretary of State ceases acting in an existing case as a result of being requested, on or after 30th June 2014, to cease acting by—

(i) the person with care under section 4(5) (child support maintenance) of the 1991 Act( 8 ), or

(ii) in Scotland, a child under section 7(6) (right of child in Scotland to apply for assessment) of that Act( 9 ); and

(b) the qualifying child or, if there is more than one qualifying child, all of the qualifying children in relation to the existing case will reach the age of 20 before the end of the transition period,

the non-resident parent is not eligible to make an application under section 4(1) of the 1991 Act( 10 ) in relation to a qualifying child referred to in sub-paragraph (b) before the expiry of the period of 13 weeks from the date of cessation of action by the Secretary of State, unless paragraph (3) applies.

(3) Where the non-resident parent becomes the person with care, paragraph (2) does not apply.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2), 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;

(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.

(5) In this article—

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (b), “non-resident parent”, “person with care” and “qualifying child” have the meanings given in section 3 (meaning of certain terms) of the 1991 Act( 11 );

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

(i) treated as the non-resident parent for the purposes of the 1991 Act( 12 ),

(ii) an absent parent (which has the meaning given in section 54 of the 1991 Act before its substitution by section 26 of, and paragraph 11(1) and (2) of Schedule 3 to, the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000), or

(iii) treated as the absent parent for the purposes of the 1991 Act( 13 ).

Appointed day for section 137 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012

4.Section 137 (collection of child support maintenance) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 comes into force on 30th June 2014, subject to the transitional and savings provision in article 5.

Transitional and savings provision for existing cases

5. Notwithstanding article 4, sections 4, 7 and 29(1) (collection of child support maintenance) of the 1991 Act( 14 ) shall continue to have effect as they were in force immediately before 30th June 2014, in relation to existing cases (that is, until the end of the transition period).

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

6. With effect from 30th June 2014, in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No.10 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2012( 15 )—

(a) in article 3(1) (cases to which the new calculation rules apply), “any of paragraphs (2) to (4)” shall be read as “paragraph (2)”;

(b) articles 3(3), (4) and (7) and 5 do not apply.

Amendment of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No.11 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2013

7. With effect from 30th June 2014, in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No.11 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2013( 16 )—

(a) in article 3(1) (cases to which the new calculation rules apply), “any of paragraphs (2) to (4)” shall be read as “paragraph (2)”;

(b) articles 3(3), (4) and (7) and 5 do not apply.