Amendment Paper as at
Wednesday 29th March 2000
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
New Amendments handed in are marked thus *
CHILD SUPPORT, PENSIONS AND SOCIAL SECURITY BILL, AS AMENDED
The Order of Consideration Motion tabled on 24th March replaces the earlier Motion, which has been withdrawn.
NOTE
The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order to be proposed by Mr Secretary Darling.
Mr Secretary Darling
That the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Bill, as amended, be considered in the following order, namely: New Clauses relating to Part I, amendments relating to Clause 1, Schedule 1, Clauses 2 to 6, Schedule 2, Clauses 7 to 15, Clauses 75 and 76, Schedule 8, Clauses 16 to 26, Schedule 3, Clauses 27 to 29, New Clauses relating to Part III, amendments relating to Clauses 57 to 62, Schedule 6, Clause 63, Schedule 7, Clauses 64 to 68, New Clauses relating to Part IV, amendments relating to Clauses 69 to 74, New Clauses relating to Chapter I of Part II, amendments relating to Clauses 30 and 31, Schedule 4, Clauses 32 to 39, New Clauses relating to Chapter II of Part II, amendments relating to Clauses 40 to 51, Schedule 5, New Clauses relating to Chapter III of Part II, amendments relating to Clauses 52 to 56, Remaining New Clauses, amendments relating to Clauses 77 and 78, Schedule 9, Clauses 79 and 80, New Schedules.
NEW CLAUSES RELATING TO PART I
Priority collection and enforcement of child support maintenance
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'In the Child Support Act 1991 there shall be inserted after section 43 the following section—
"43A. In exercising his powers under sections 29 to 43 of this Act the Secretary of State shall ensure that such powers are exercised with a view to securing the collection and enforcement of child support maintenance from those non-resident parents who have failed to pay any amount of child support maintenance and that this duty is accorded priority over the collection and enforcement of child support maintenance from those non-resident parents who have made some payments of child support maintenance.".'.
Deduction of earnings orders
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'.—There shall be substituted for section 31(3) of the Child Support Act 1991 the following—
"(3) A deduction of earnings order shall be made so as to secure the payment both of arrears of child support maintenance payable under the maintenance calculation and amounts of child support maintenance which will become due.".'.
Child Support Agency: quality standard guarantee
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
NC27
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) The Secretary of State shall, by regulations, set a target time within which the Child Support Agency shall deal with all cases referred to it.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) above shall require the CSA to pay compensation to the person aggrieved when it fails to meet its obligations in respect of the target time; and shall set out the level of compensation payable.'.
Monitoring of policy
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
NC28
To move the following Clause:—
'.—The Secretary of State shall, within eighteen months of the Act coming into force, lay before Parliament a report setting out:—
(a) the number of maintenance calculations (whether as a result of the operation of section 4 of the 1991 Act as amended, or as a result of the operation of section 6 of the 1991 Act as amended) which he has carried out in the first year following the coming into force of this Act;
(b) the number of maintenance calculations referred to in (a) above in which the amount of child suppport maintenance was more than would have been projected if that maintenance calculation had been undertaken in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the 1991 Act prior to any amendment by this Act;
(c) the number of maintenance calculations referred to in (a) above in which the amount of child support maintenance was less than would have been projected if that maintenance calculation had been undertaken in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the 1991 Act prior to any amendment by this Act; and
(d) the number of maintenance calculations referred to in (a) above in which the amount of child support maintenance was the same as would have been projected if that maintenance calculation had been undertaken in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the 1991 Act prior to any amendment by this Act.'.
Steve Webb
Mr Paul Burstow
Mr Andrew George
8
Page 1, line 8 [Clause 1], after second 'Act")', insert—
'(1) for section 1(2) (duty to maintain) there shall be substituted:
(2) 'For the purposes of this Act, a non-resident parent shall be taken to have met his responsibility to maintain any qualifying child of his—
(a) by paying a calculation in accordance with the provisions of this Act (as amended); or
(b) by making payments in accordance with an order set out in subsection (3) in the circumstances set out in subsection (4).
(3) The Order referred to in subsection 2(b) shall be an order for periodical payments to the child made under section 23(1)(d) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 or paragraph 1(2)(a) or (b) of Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989.
(4) The circumstances referred to in subsection 2(b) are that—
(a) the Secretary of State does not have jurisdiction to make a maintenance calculation under the provisions of section 6 of the 1991 Act as amended; and
(b) simultaneous with the periodical payments order, the court makes—
(i) an order under section 23(1)(a), (b) (spousal maintenance orders etc) or (c) or section 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973; or
(ii) an order under paragraph 1(2)(c), (d) or (e) of Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989 (lump sum payments or transfer of property orders etc);
or the order is a variation or revival of an order originally made when one or more such orders were made; and
(c) prior to making any such periodical payments order the court has considered the maintenance calculation that exists or could exist under section 11(1) of the 1991 Act as amended, departing from the quantum of such calculation only where it is in the interests of the child the subject of the periodical payments application to do so; and
(d) there is no regulation made by the Secretary of State providing for the termination of the operation of these provisions.
(5) Where the court makes an order as set out in subsection (3) and the conditions of subsection (4) are met, any calculation under this Act shall be discharged and the Secretary of State shall not exercise any of his powers under this Act.
(b)".'.
Steve Webb
Mr Paul Burstow
Mr Andrew George
10
Page 2, line 43 [Clause 1], at end insert—
'(2A) for subsection 55(1)(a) and (b) of the 1991 Act there shall be substituted—
"(1) For the purposes of this Act a person is a child if—
(a) he is under the age of 17; or
(b) he is receiving full-time education to include advanced education to the conclusion of his first degree course.".'.
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
87
Page 83, line 7 [Schedule 1], at beginning insert—
'( ) Where the amount of child support maintenance calculated exceeds such sum as may be prescribed ('the maximum sum'), the maximum sum shall be payable by the non-resident parent.'.
Mr David Willetts
Mr Eric Pickles
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr Edward Leigh
Mr Laurence Robertson
Miss Julie Kirkbride
88
Page 83, line 7 [Schedule 1], at beginning insert—
' "( )(a) Following the calculation of the amount payable by the non-resident parent the Secretary of State shall determine the net weekly income of the parent with care in like manner to the determination of the net weekly income of the non-resident parent.
(b) Where the net weekly income of the parent with care exceeds the net weekly income of the non-resident parent of the Secretary of State shall in such manner as may be prescribed reduce the amount of child support maintenance payable by the non-resident parent.
(c) Where the non-resident parent is liable to pay child support maintenance to more than one person the provisions of (a) shall apply to each parent with care and the reductions in the amount payable provided for by (b) shall apply to the amounts payable to each of those parents with care in receipt of a net weekly income greater than that of the non-resident parent.".'.
Steve Webb
Mr Paul Burstow
Mr Andrew George
2
Page 83, line 35 [Schedule 1], leave out sub-paragraph 4(1) and insert—
'4.—(1) Except in a case falling within sub-paragraph (2), a flat rate of £5 is payable if the nil rate does not apply and the non-resident parent's net weekly income is £100 or less.'.
