Commentary
10.Section 1 of the Act amends the provisions which identify the persons in respect of whom child benefit is payable.  Hitherto the child benefit provisions have not distinguished between children of different ages.  Anyone in respect of whom child benefit is payable was regarded as a child, even though the Contributions and Benefits Act requires that a child who had attained age 16 needs to satisfy additional requirements in order to continue to be treated as a child.
11.Section 1(1) amends section 141 of the Contributions and Benefits Act so that child benefit is payable to a person who is responsible for a child or children or a qualifying young person or qualifying young persons.
12.Section 1(2) substitutes in section 142 of the Contributions and Benefits Act a description of those persons who are treated as a child or as a qualifying young person for the purposes of Part 9 of that Act.  Under the new provision, a person is treated as a child if he has not attained age 16.  Once a person has attained the age of 16 continuing entitlement to child benefit will be dependent on the person being treated as a qualifying young person.
13.Section 1(2) provides that a person is treated as a qualifying young person if he has not attained a prescribed age greater than 16 and also satisfies further prescribed conditions.  The Treasury is given the power to prescribe in regulations the age at which a qualifying person will cease to be so treated and the further conditions that a qualifying young person will need to satisfy.
14.Section 1(3) provides for the amendments set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act to take effect.  These arise as a consequence of making the distinction introduced by section 1(2) between a child and a qualifying young person.
15.Sections 137 and 138 of the Northern Ireland Contributions and Benefits Act are similarly amended by section 2(1) and (2).
16.Section 2(3) provides for the amendments set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act to take effect in respect of the provisions which apply in Northern Ireland.  These arise as a consequence of making the distinction introduced by section 2(2) between a child and a qualifying young person.
17.Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act amend references to a child or children in the Contributions and Benefits Act and the Northern Ireland Contributions and Benefits Act to include references to a qualifying young person or qualifying young persons.
18.Some of the amendments are in respect of provisions governing entitlement to other benefits for which entitlement to child benefit is a condition and which rely on the same concepts as child benefit.  In the case of entitlement to widowed mother’s allowance under section 37 of the Contributions and Benefits Act, widowed parent’s allowance under section 39A of that Act and guardian’s allowance under section 77 of that Act, entitlement is conditional upon the person being also entitled to child benefit.  Consequently, where entitlement to child benefit is extended by virtue of regulations made under the powers in section 1(2) of the Act, the period of entitlement to these other benefits is also extended.
19.Similarly increases of maternity allowance for an adult dependant under section 82(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act and increases of unemployability supplement and industrial death benefits for child and adult dependants provided for in Schedule 7 to that Act are conditional upon the person being entitled to child benefit.  Again, the period of entitlement to these increases is extended if a person’s entitlement to child benefit is extended by virtue of regulations made under the powers in section 1(2) of the Act.
20.Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act amends the equivalent provisions of the Northern Ireland Contributions and Benefits Act and has the same effect as Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act.