Child Benefit (General) Regulations 1976
| Year | 1976 |
1976 No. 965
Social Security
The Child Benefit (General) Regulations 1976
Made 18th June 1976
Laid before Parliament 28th June 1976
Coming into Operation 8th August 1976
The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 2, 3, 9(2)(a), 17(5) and (6), 20(1) and (2)(c) and 24 of, and paragraphs 1 to 4 of Schedule 1 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to, the Child Benefit Act 197522717181, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following regulations:—
PART I
General
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the Child Benefit (General) Regulations 1976 and shall come into operation on 8th August 1976.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the Child Benefit Act 1975;
“the Social Security Act” means the Social Security Act 197522717191;
“the Taxes Act” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 197022717201,
“benefit” means child benefit under the Act;
“the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Security;
“full-time education” means full-time education by attendance at a recognised educational establishment,
and other expressions have the same meanings as in the Act.
(3) References in these regulations to any condition being satisfied or any facts existing in a week shall, unless they relate to paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act (children in detention, care etc.) be construed as references to the condition being satisfied or the facts existing at the beginning of that week.
(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these regulations to—
(a)
(a) a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these regulations and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number;
(b)
(b) any provision made by or contained in any enactment or instrument shall be construed as a reference to that provision as amended or extended by any enactment or instrument and as including a reference to any provision which may re-enact or replace it, with or without modification.
(5) The rules for the construction of Acts of Parliament contained in the Interpretation Act 188922717211shall apply for the purposes of the interpretation of these regulations as they apply for the purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
Special provisions as to contributions and expenditure in respect of a child
2.—(1) Where two or more persons are contributing to the cost of providing for the same child and the aggregate weekly amount of their contributions is, but the weekly amount of each of their individual contributions is not, of an amount not less than the weekly rate of child benefit which would be payable in respect of that child had the aggregate weekly amount of their contributions been contributed by one only of them, the aggregate weekly amount of their contributions shall be treated as having been made by that one of them as they shall by agreement nominate in writing or, in default of such agreement, by that one of them as the Secretary of State may, in his discretion, determine.
(2) Where pursuant to a nomination or determination under paragraph (1) a person is awarded benefit in respect of a child, the nomination or determination shall cease to have effect in the week following that in which benefit was awarded to that person; and accordingly that person shall himself be required to satisfy the requirement in section 3(1)(b) of the Act, namely, that he is contributing to the cost of providing for the child at a weekly rate which is not less than the weekly rate of benefit payable in respect of the child.
(3) Where spouses are residing together a contribution made or expenditure incurred by one of them in respect of a child shall if they so agree, or in default of such agreement if the Secretary of State in his discretion so determines, be treated as made or incurred by the other.
Child in residential accommodation in prescribed circumstances
3. The prescribed circumstances for the purposes of section 3(3)(c) of the Act (subject to section 3(4) of the Act a day of absence of a child from a person to be disregarded for the purposes of section 3(2) if it is due solely to the child's being, in prescribed circumstances, in residential accommodation pursuant to arrangements made under section 12 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 22717221or section 27(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 194722717231) are any circumstances in which a child is in residential accommodation pursuant to arrangements made under the said section 12 or the said section 27(1).
Days of absence to be disregarded in determining whether a child is living with a person
4.—(1) The prescribed number of days under section 3(4) of the Act (number of days that may be disregarded by virtue of section 3(3) (b) or (c) of the Act in the case of any child not to exceed such number as may be prescribed unless the person claiming to be responsible for the child regularly incurs expenditure in respect of him) is 84 consecutive days calculated in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) Two or more distinct relevant periods separated by one or more intervals each not exceeding 28 days, shall be treated as a continuous period equal in duration to the total of such distinct periods and ending on the last day of the latter or last of such periods.
(3) In paragraph (2) “relevant periods” means periods to which section 3(3)(b) of the Act (day of absence of a child from a person due solely to the child's undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution to be disregarded in determining whether that child is living with that person) applies; also periods to which section 3(3)(c) of the Act (day of absence of a child from a person due solely to the child's being in residential accommodation pursuant to arrangements made under certain enactments to be disregarded in determining whether that child is living with that person) applies.
Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as receiving full-time education
5. A person shall be treated for the purposes of the Act as receiving full-time education if he is receiving—
(a) primary or secondary education in England or Wales otherwise than at school under special arrangements made under section 56 of the Education Act 194422717241; or
(b) education in Scotland elsewhere than at an educational establishment under special arrangements made under section 14 of the Education (Scotland) Act 196222717251.
Interruption of full-time education
6. In determining for the purposes of section 2(1)(b) of the Act (persons aged 16 but under 19 who are to be treated as children) whether a person is receiving full-time education, no account shall be taken of a period (whether beginning before or after the person concerned attains age 16) of up to 6 months of any interruption to the extent to which it is accepted that the interruption is attributable to a cause which is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case; and where the interruption or its continuance is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body of the person concerned, the period of 6 months may be extended for such further period as is accepted as being reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case.
Circumstances in which a person who has ceased to receive full-time education is to be treated as continuing to receive such education
7. A person who ceases to receive full-time education not before May of 1977 but before the week which contains the last Sunday in June of that year shall if—
(a) he is under the age of 17 when he so ceases; and
(b) he was not entitled to cease to attend school before the beginning of the 1977 summer term,
be treated as continuing to receive full-time education until the week which includes that Sunday; and similarly with regard to the year 1978.
Employed trainees
8.—(1) Where but for the provisions of paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to the Act (a person not to be entitled to benefit by virtue of section 2(1)(b) of the Act in respect of a child if the education in question is received by that child by virtue of his employment or of any office held by him) a person would be entitled to benefit in respect of a child, that child shall not for any week be treated as receiving education by virtue of his employment or of any office held by him if that week begins in what has been or is likely to be a continuous period of not less than 6 months in respect of which that child receives no financial support by virtue of his employment or any office held by him.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), any reimbursement of the cost of books, equipment, tuition, examination fees, travelling expenses and contributions under the Social Security Act is not to be treated as the receipt by the child of financial support.
Persons exempt from tax
9.—(1) For the purposes of paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Act (except where regulations otherwise provide no person to be entitled to benefit in respect of a child if either that person or such other person as may be prescribed is exempt from tax under such provisions as may be prescribed) a person and, if that person is residing with his...
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