Commentary on Sections Conditions of Eligibility Section 7: The person must be responsible for the child
49.Section 7 sets out the second condition of eligibility. This is that the person making the declaration is responsible for the child. Such a person does not have to be the child’s biological or legal parent, but could be any person who has responsibility for the child (such as a member of the child’s extended family).
50.Further rules can be set out in regulations made under subsection (3) specifying the circumstances in which a person will be treated as responsible, or not responsible, for a child for the purposes of the scheme. The Government intends to make regulations providing that a person must normally live with a child in order to be regarded as responsible for that child.