# The Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002, Regulation 13: Non-consensual conception

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) This regulation applies in relation to A if—
(a) the claimant is A’s parent; and
(b) the Board determines that—
(i) A is likely to have been conceived as a result of sexual intercourse to which the claimant did not agree by choice, or did not have the freedom and capacity to agree by choice; and
(ii) the claimant is not living at the same address as the other party to that intercourse (“B”).
Control or coercion
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), the circumstances in which the claimant is to be treated as not having the freedom or capacity to agree by choice are to include (but are not limited to) circumstances in which, at or around the time A was conceived—
(a) B was—
(i) personally connected to the claimant; and
(ii) repeatedly and continuously engaging in behaviour towards the claimant that was controlling or coercive; and
(b) that behaviour had a serious effect on the claimant.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a)(i), B is personally connected to the claimant if—
(a) B is in an intimate personal relationship with the claimant; or
(b) B and the claimant live together and—
(i) are members of the same family; or
(ii) have previously been in an intimate personal relationship with each other.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b), behaviour has a serious effect on the claimant if—
(a) it causes the claimant to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against the claimant; or
(b) it causes the claimant serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on the complainant’s day-to-day activities.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b)(i), B and the claimant are members of the same family if—
(a) they are, or have been, married to each other;
(b) they are, or have been, civil partners of each other;
(c) they are relatives (within the meaning of section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996);
(d) they have agreed to marry each other (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);
(e) they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (within the meaning of section 73 or 197 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004), whether or not the agreement has been terminated;
(f) they are both parents of the same child;
(g) they have, or have had, parental responsibility (within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989 or article 6 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) for the same child; or
(h) they have, or have had, in respect of the same child, one or more of the parental responsibilities or parental rights described in section 1 or 2 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2007.
Determinations
(6) The Board may make a determination under paragraph (1)(b)(i) if, and only if—
(a) the claimant provides evidence from an approved person which demonstrates that—
(i) the claimant has had contact with that person or another approved person; and
(ii) the claimant’s circumstances are consistent with those of a person to whom paragraph (1)(a) and (b)(i) apply; or
(b) there has been—
(i) a conviction for—
(aa) an offence of rape under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 or article 5 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008,
(bb) an offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, or
(cc) any offence under the law of any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom that the Board considers to be analogous to an offence mentioned in paragraph (aa) or (bb), or
(ii) an award under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in respect of a relevant criminal injury sustained by the claimant,
and it appears to the Board to be likely (disregarding the matters mentioned in paragraph (7)) that the offence was committed, or the relevant criminal injury was caused, by B and either resulted in the conception of A or diminished the claimant’s freedom or capacity to agree by choice to the sexual intercourse which resulted in that conception.
(7) In considering, for the purposes of paragraph (6)(b), the likelihood that the offence or injury resulted in the conception of A the matters to be disregarded are any possibilities that the conception of A may have resulted from another such offence or injury, regardless of whether any conviction or award has occurred in respect of that other offence or injury.
(8) In paragraph (6)(a), “approved person” means a person of a description specified on a list approved by the Board for the purposes of this regulation and acting in the capacity referred to in the description.
(9) In paragraph (6)(b)(ii), “relevant criminal injury” means—
(a) a sexual offence (including a pregnancy sustained as a direct result of being the victim of a sexual offence),
(b) physical abuse of an adult, including domestic abuse, or
(c) mental injury,
as described in the tariff of injuries in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
(10) In paragraphs (6)(b)(ii) and (9), “Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme” means the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme or the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme as established from time to time under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 or the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 respectively.
(11) The Board may treat the condition in paragraph (6)(a) as met if the Board are satisfied that the claimant has provided the evidence to the Secretary of State for corresponding purposes in relation to universal credit, income support or old style JSA.
(12) The Board may make a determination under paragraph (1)(b)(ii) if the claimant confirms that the criterion in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) is met.
Application to single and joint claims
(13) In this regulation, “claimant”, in relation to a single claim, means the person who makes the claim.
(14) In relation to a joint claim—
(a) paragraph (1)(b)(i) applies if it applies to either of the joint claimants; and
(b) references in the other provisions of this regulation to “the claimant” mean the joint claimant to whom paragraph (1)(b)(i) applies (and, in paragraphs (6) and (11) include a joint claimant who purports to meet that criterion).
(15) In paragraph (14), “joint claimant” means a member of the couple making the claim.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2007/regulation/13 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/child-tax-credit-regulations-2002/regulation-13
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.