# The Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations 1996, Regulation 18: Costs incurred in supporting certain children

Extent: E+W+S

(1) The costs incurred by a parent in supporting a child who is not his child but who is part of his family and who was, at the date on which any departure direction given in response to an application under this regulation would take effect, living in the same household as that parent (a “relevant child") shall constitute special expenses for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 4B to the Act if the conditions set out in paragraph (2) are satisfied and shall, if those conditions are satisfied, equal the amount specified in paragraph (3).
(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are—
(a) the child became a relevant child prior to 5th April 1993 and has remained a relevant child for the whole of the period from that date to the date on which any departure direction given in response to an application under this regulation would take effect;
(b) subject to paragraph (7)—
(i) the liability of the absent parent of a relevant child to pay maintenance to or for the benefit of that child under a maintenance order, a written maintenance agreement or a maintenance assessment; or
(ii) any deduction from benefit under section 43 of the Act in place of payment of child support maintenance to or for the benefit of that child,
is less than the amount specified in paragraph (4), or there is no such liability or deduction; and
(c) the net income of the parent’s current partner where the relevant child is the child of that partner, calculated in accordance with paragraph (5), is less than the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (6) (“the partner’s outgoings").
(3) Subject to paragraph (7A), the amount referred to in paragraph (1) constituting special expenses for a case falling within this regulation is the difference between the amount specified in paragraph (4) and, subject to paragraph (7), the liability of the absent parent of a relevant child to pay maintenance of a kind mentioned in paragraph (2)(b)(i) or any deduction from benefit mentioned in paragraph (2)(b)(ii), and if there is no such liability or deduction is the amount specified in paragraph (4).
(4) Subject to paragraphs (4A) and (4B), The amount referred to in paragraphs (2)(b) and (3) is the aggregate of—
(a) an amount in respect of each relevant child equal to the personal allowance for that child specified in column (2) of paragraph 2 of the relevant Schedule (income support personal allowance);
(b) if the conditions set out in paragraph 14(b) and (c) of that Schedule (income support disabled child premium) are satisfied in respect of a relevant child, an amount equal to the amount specified in column (2) of paragraph 15(6) of that Schedule in respect of each such child and;
(c) except where the family includes other children of the parent, an amount equal to the income support family premium specified in paragraph 3(1)(b) of that Schedule that would be payable if the parent were a claimant.
(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4A) Where day to day care of the relevant child is shared between the current partner of the person making an application under this regulation and the other parent of that child, the amounts referred to in paragraph (4) shall be reduced by the proportion of those amounts which is the same as the proportion of the week in respect of which the child is not living in the same household as the applicant.
(4B) Where an application under paragraph (1) is made in respect of more than one relevant child and the family does not include any other children of the parent, the amount applicable under sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (4) in respect of each relevant child shall be calculated by dividing the amount referred to in that sub-paragraph by the number of relevant children in respect of whom that application is made.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), the net income of the parent’s partner shall be the aggregate of—
(a) the income of that partner, calculated in accordance with regulation 7(1) of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations (but excluding the amount mentioned in sub-paragraph (d) of that regulation) as if that partner were an absent parent to whom that regulation applied;
(b) the child benefit payable in respect of each relevant child; and
(c) any income, other than earnings, in excess of £10.00 per week in respect of each relevant child.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), a current partner’s outgoings shall be the aggregate of—
(a) an amount equal to the amount specified in column (2) of paragraph 1(1)(e) of the relevant Schedule (income support personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25);
(b) where a departure direction has already been given in a case falling within regulation 27 in respect of the housing costs attributable to the partner, the amount determined in accordance with regulation 40(7) as the housing costs the partner is able to contribute;
(c) the amount of any reduction in the parent’s exempt income, calculated under paragraph (1) of regulation 9 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations , in consequence of the application of paragraph (2) of that regulation; and
(d) the amount specified in paragraph (3) or the aggregate of those amounts where paragraph (7A) applies to that partner.
(7) The Secretary of State may, if he is satisfied that it is appropriate in the particular circumstances of the case, treat a liability of a kind mentioned in paragraph (2)(b)(i) as not constituting a liability for the purposes of that paragraph and of paragraph (3).
(7A) Where an application is made in respect of relevant children of different parents, a separate calculation shall be made in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) in respect of each relevant child or group of relevant children who have the same parents and the amount constituting special expenses referred to in paragraph (1) shall be the aggregate of the amounts calculated in accordance with paragraph (3) in respect of each such relevant child or group of relevant children.
(8) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a) a child who is not the child of a particular person is a part of that person’s family where—
(i) that child is the child of a current partner of that person; or
(ii) that child is the child of a former partner of that person and lives in the same household as the applicant for every night of each week;
(b) “relevant Schedule" means Schedule 2 to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 .
(c) where a person has made an election under section 13A(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (election not to receive child benefit) for payments of child benefit not to be made, the amount of child benefit that would be otherwise paid in respect of the relevant child is to be treated as being payable.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2907/regulation/18 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/child-support-departure-direction-and-consequential-amendments-regulations-1996/regulation-18
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.