{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-pensions-social-security-and-child-support-consequential-etc-provisions-order-northern-ireland-2005/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-pensions-social-security-and-child-support-consequential-etc-provisions-order-northern-ireland-2005/note.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2005/536",
  "legislation_title": "The Civil Partnership (Pensions, Social Security and Child Support) (Consequential, etc. Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-pensions-social-security-and-child-support-consequential-etc-provisions-order-northern-ireland-2005",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Order)\nThis Order makes amendments to provisions of subordinate legislation, and contains a transitional provision relating to housing benefit and a transitory provision for child support in relation to cases for which the provisions of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland 2000 are not yet in operation. The amendments are consequential upon the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (“the Act”). The Act enables same-sex couples to form a civil partnership by registering as civil partners of each other. Certain overseas relationships registered abroad may be treated as the formation of a civil partnership.\nThe Order provides that, in matters relating to pension sharing on divorce, occupational and personal pension schemes, social security, and child support, civil partners will be afforded the same rights and responsibilities as spouses. The Order also provides that, in certain cases, same sex couples living together as if they were civil partners (but who have not formed a civil partnership) are to be treated in the same way as unmarried couples who are living together as if they were husband and wife.\nIn a substantial number of cases the amendments to social security subordinate legislation insert a new definition of “couple” to provide for four different categories of couple: married couples who are members of the same household; unmarried couples who are living together as husband and wife; same-sex couples who have formed a civil partnership and are members of the same household; and same-sex couples who are living together as if they were civil partners, and amend the definition of “partner” to mean the other member of a couple so defined. The amendments also provide for inclusion of surviving civil partners where there is a reference to widows or widowers, and extend the definition of “war widower’s pension” to include war pensions paid to surviving civil partners.\nArticle 1 provides for the citation and commencement of the Order. Article 2 introduces the amendments being made in Schedules 1 to 5.\nArticle 3 makes transitional provision for a claimant who is a member of a couple who live together as if they were civil partners on or after 5th December 2005 and is in receipt of an award of housing benefit.\nSchedule 1 makes consequential amendments to subordinate legislation relating to pension sharing on divorce. The Regulations amended are:\nThe Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Pension Sharing (Valuation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Pension Sharing (Implementation and Discharge of Liability) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Pension Sharing (Pension Credit Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Pension Sharing (Safeguarded Rights) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Sharing of State Scheme Rights (Provision of Information and Valuation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nSchedule 2 makes consequential amendments to subordinate legislation relating to occupational and personal pension schemes. The Regulations amended are:\nThe Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Modification of Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997\nThe Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997\nThe Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Bankruptcy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002\nSchedule 3 makes consequential amendments to subordinate legislation relating to social security. The subordinate legislation amended is:\nThe Social Security (Benefit) (Married Women and Widows Special Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1975\nThe Social Security (Employed Earners' Employments for Industrial Injuries Purposes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975\nThe Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975\nThe Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975\nThe Social Security (Invalid Care Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976\nThe Social Security Benefit (Dependency) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977\nThe Social Security Benefit (Persons Residing Together) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977\nThe Social Security Benefit (Persons Abroad) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1978\nThe Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979\nThe Social Security (Widow’s Benefit and Retirement Pensions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979\nThe Social Security (Widow’s Benefit, Retirement Pensions and Other Benefits) (Transitional) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979\nThe Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987\nThe Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 and those Regulations as modified for persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit by the Housing Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003\nThe Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987\nThe Housing Benefit (Supply of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988\nThe Social Security (Payments on account, Overpayments and Recovery) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988\nThe Social Security (Attendance Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994\nThe Social Security (Incapacity Benefit - Increases for Dependants) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994\nThe Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995\nThe Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996\nThe Social Security Benefits (Maintenance Payments and Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996\nThe Social Security (Child Maintenance Bonus) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996\nThe Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000\nThe Social Security (Claims and Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001\nThe Social Security (Loss of Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002\nThe Tax Credit (Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002\nThe State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003\nThe Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Partners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003\nSchedule 4 makes consequential amendments to subordinate legislation relating to child support. The Regulations amended are:\nThe Child Support (Information, Evidence and Disclosure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Child Support (Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Child Support (Collection and Enforcement of Other Forms of Maintenance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992\nThe Child Support Departure Direction and Consequential Amendments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996\nThe Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001\nThe Child Support (Variations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001\nSchedule 5 makes transitory provision in relation to those child support cases for which the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (“the 2000 Act”) has not been commenced (“an old scheme case”) until such time as that Act is commenced for those cases in so far as it is not already in operation. It provides that specified paragraphs in Schedules 15 and 16 to the Act relating to financial relief in the High Court and a county court in the case of Schedule 15 and in a court of summary jurisdiction in the case of Schedule 16 shall apply to an old scheme case as if the prescribed substitutions and insertions were made.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2005/536/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T01:49:33.335587+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}