Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 3177

The Child Support (Voluntary Payments) Regulations 2000

---

© Crown Copyright 2000

Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament.

The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users.

It should be noted that the right to reproduce the text of Statutory Instruments does not extend to the Queen's Printer imprints which should be removed from any copies of the Statutory Instrument which are issued or made available to the public. This includes reproduction of the Statutory Instrument on the Internet and on intranet sites. The Royal Arms may be reproduced only where they are an integral part of the original document.

The text of this Internet version of the Statutory Instrument which is published by the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament has been prepared to reflect the text as it was Made. A print version is also available and is published by The Stationery Office Limited as the The Child Support (Voluntary Payments) Regulations 2000, ISBN 0 11 018865 9. The print version may be purchased by clicking here. Braille copies of this Statutory Instrument can also be purchased at the same price as the print edition by contacting TSO Customer Services on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail:customer.services@tso.co.uk.

Further information about the publication of legislation on this website can be found by referring to the Frequently Asked Questions.

To ensure fast access over slow connections, large documents have been segmented into "chunks". Where you see a "continue" button at the bottom of the page of text, this indicates that there is another chunk of text available.

"the Act" means the Child Support Act 1991;

"debit card" means a card, operating as a substitute for a cheque, that can be used to obtain cash or to make a payment at a point of sale whereby the card holder's bank or building society account is debited without deferment of payment;

"the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations" means the Child Support (Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases) Regulations 2000[3];

"the qualifying child's home" means the home in which the qualifying child resides with the person with care and "home" has the meaning given in regulation 1 of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations; and

"relevant person" means - 

(a) a person with care;

(b) a non-resident parent;

(c) a parent who is treated as a non-resident parent under regulation 8 of the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations;

(d) where the application for a maintenance calculation is made by a child under section 7 of the Act, that child,

in respect of whom a maintenance calculation has been applied for, or has been treated as applied for, under section 6(3) of the Act, or is or has been in force.

Voluntary payment
     2.  - (1) A payment counts as a voluntary payment if it is - 

(a) made in accordance with section 28J(2) and (4) of the Act;

(b) of a type to which regulation 3 applies;

(c) made on or after the effective date of the maintenance calculation made, or which would be made but for the Secretary of State's decision not to make one, and for this purpose "effective date" means the effective date as determined in accordance with the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 2000[4]; and

(d) a payment in relation to which evidence or verification of a type to which regulation 4 applies is provided, if the Secretary of State so requires.

    (2) Where the Secretary of State is considering whether a payment is a voluntary payment, he may invite representations from a relevant person.

Types of payment
     3. This regulation applies to a payment made by the non-resident parent - 

(a) by any of the following methods - 


(i) in cash;

(ii) by standing order;

(iii) by any other method which requires one person to give his authority for payments to be made from an account of his to an account of another on specific dates during the period for which the authority is in force and without the need for any further authority from him;

(iv) by an arrangement whereby one person gives his authority for payments to be made from an account of his, or on his behalf, to another person or to an account of that other person;

(v) by cheque or postal order; or

(vi) by debit card, and



(b) which is, or is in respect of, - 



(i) a payment in lieu of child support maintenance and which is paid to the person with care;

(ii) a mortgage or loan taken out on the security of the property which is the qualifying child's home where that mortgage or loan was taken out to facilitate the purchase of, or to pay for essential repairs or improvements to, that property;

(iii) rent on the property which is the qualifying child's home;

(iv) mains-supplied gas, water or electricity charges at the qualifying child's home;

(v) council tax payable by the person with care in relation to the qualifying child's home;

(vi) essential repairs to the heating system in the qualifying child's home; or

(vii) repairs which are essential to maintain the fabric of the qualifying child's home.

Evidence or verification of payment
     4. This regulation applies to - 

(a) evidence provided by the non-resident parent in the form of - 


(i) a bank statement;

(ii) a duplicate of a cashed cheque;

(iii) a receipt from the payee; or

(iv) a receipted bill or invoice; or



(b) verification orally or in writing from the person with care.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.


P. Hollis
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security

30th November 2000

[2] 2000 c. 19.back

[3] S.I. 2000/ .back

[4] S.I. 2000/ .back