Regulation 3 Decision and notice of decision

(1)

Subject to paragraph (2), a decision as to the amount of child support maintenance payable under a maintenance assessment or an interim maintenance assessment made under section 11, 12, 16, 17 or 20 of the former Act may be superseded by the Secretary of State on his own initiative under section 17 of the Act, in relation to—

(a)

a maintenance assessment (whenever made) which F1... is in force on the calculation date;

(b)

a maintenance assessment made following an application for child support maintenance which is made F2... as provided for in regulation 28(1);

(c)

an interim maintenance assessment F3(whenever made)where there is sufficient information held by the Secretary of State to make a decision in accordance with this paragraph.

F4(2)

Where the Secretary of State acts in accordance with paragraph (1), the information used for the purposes of that supersession will be—

(a)

that held by the Secretary of State on the calculation date; or

(b)

where—

(i)

regulation 5(b) applies; and

(ii)

the Secretary of State is unable to make the decision required to be made in accordance with that regulation on the basis of the information referred to in F5sub-paragraph (a),

that which was used or considered to make the maintenance assessment to be superseded in accordance with regulation 3(1)(a) or (b).

(3)

Where a superseding decision referred to in paragraph (1) is made the Secretary of State shall—

(a)

make a conversion calculation;

(b)

calculate a new amount; and

(c)

notify to the non-resident parent and the person with care and, where the maintenance assessment was made in response to an application under section 7 of the former Act, the child, in writing—

(i)

the new amount;

(ii)

where appropriate, the transitional amount;

(iii)

any phasing amount applied in the calculation of the transitional amount;

(iv)

the length of the transitional period;

(v)

the date the conversion decision was made;

(vi)

the effective date of the conversion decision;

(vii)

the non-resident parent’s net weekly income;

(viii)

the number of qualifying children;

(ix)

the number of relevant other children;

(x)

where there is an adjustment for apportionment or shared care, or both, or under regulation 9 or 11 of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations, the amount calculated in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act and those Regulations;

(xi)

any relevant departure direction or relevant property transfer taken into account in the conversion decision; and

(xii)

any apportionment carried out in accordance with regulation 25(3).

(4)

Where at the calculation date there is an interim maintenance assessment in force and there is insufficient information held by the Secretary of State to make a maintenance assessment, or a decision in accordance with paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall—

(a)

supersede the interim maintenance assessment to make a default maintenance decision; and

(b)

notify the non-resident parent, the person with care and, where the maintenance assessment was made in response to an application under section 7, the child, in writing, in accordance with regulation 15C(2) of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations.

(5)

In a case to which paragraph (1)(c) or (4) applies, where after the calculation date information is made available to the Secretary of State to enable him to make a maintenance assessment he may—

(a)

where the decision was made under paragraph (1)(c), revise the interim maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations, and supersede the conversion decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations;

(b)

where the decision was made under paragraph (4), revise the interim maintenance assessment in accordance with the Assessment Procedure Regulations, and revise the default maintenance decision in accordance with the Decisions and Appeals Regulations.

(6)

A decision referred to in paragraph (1) or (4) shall take effect from the case conversion date.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in reg. 3(1)(a) omitted (21.2.2003) by virtue of The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/328), regs. 1(3)(a), 9(3)(a)
F2: Words in reg. 3(1)(b) omitted (27.10.2008) by virtue of Child Support (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2543), regs. 1, 6
F3: Words in reg. 3(1)(c) inserted (21.2.2003) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/328), regs. 1(3)(a), 9(3)(b)
F4: Reg. 3(2) substituted (16.9.2004) by The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/2415), regs. 1(2)(a), 8(3)
F5: Word in reg. 3(2)(b)(ii) substituted (16.3.2005) by Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/785), regs. 1(2)(a), 7(2)