Debate contribution: Child Support Fees (Revocation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on .
- MLA
- Mr Gordon Lyons
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 June 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Child Support Fees (Revocation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4494969
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I beg to move
The regulations, which came into operation on 18 January 2024, amend the Child Support Fees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 by revoking regulation 3(6) and 3(7). Those provisions relate to arrangements for the collection of child maintenance. The regulations are required to satisfy the legal doctrine of revoking obsolete provisions from the statute book as promptly as possible. Regulation 3(6) and regulation 3(7)of the Child Support Fees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 were rendered obsolete following the enactment of the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 on 29 June 2023. The primary purpose of the UK-wide Act was to provide additional legislative protection for victims of domestic abuse who use the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). The Act does that by allowing for the collection of child maintenance payments by my Department on behalf of the person with care where my Department is satisfied that there is evidence of behaviour of a parent that amounts to domestic abuse against the other parent or children in the household. In revoking regulation 3(6) and regulation 3(7), my Department is removing the risk of any confusion arising in the wider public and legal community. Primary legislation naturally takes precedence over subordinate legislation, and, as the statute book does not require both provisions to operate concurrently, it is therefore prudent to revoke the subordinate provisions. Although the regulations are merely technical in nature, they are, more importantly, closely associated with the domestic abuse protections that are provided in the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023. The shared aim of my Department and the CMS is always to strive to provide a better service for protecting victims of domestic abuse. The regulations form part of a wider legislative package that flows from the 2023 Act that will see a focus on that important policy area. I commend the regulations to the House.
310 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.31 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.58 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.28 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.14 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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