Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
Part 3 — Child support etc.
33

31
Power to write off arrears
After section 41D of the Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48) (inserted by section 30
of this Act) insert—
“41E
Power to write off arrears
(1)
The Commission may extinguish liability in respect of arrears of child
5
support maintenance if it appears to it—
(a)
that the circumstances of the case are of a description specified
in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and
(b)
that it would be unfair or otherwise inappropriate to enforce
liability in respect of the arrears.
10
(2)
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision with respect
to the exercise of the power under subsection (1).”
32
Transfer of arrears
After section 49 of the Child Support Act 1991 insert—
“49A
Transfer of arrears
15
(1)
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision enabling the
Commission in prescribed circumstances to enter into arrangements
(“transfer arrangements”) under which liability in respect of arrears of
child support maintenance becomes debt due to the person with whom
the arrangements are entered into (“the transferee”).
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(2)
Liability which is the subject of transfer arrangements—
(a)
ceases to be liability in relation to which the Commission’s
functions with respect to collection and enforcement are
exercisable, and
(b)
becomes debt in which only the transferee has an interest.
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(3)
Regulations under subsection (1) may, in particular—
(a)
specify when arrears of child support maintenance may be the
subject of transfer arrangements;
(b)
specify the descriptions of person with whom transfer
arrangements may be entered into;
30
(c)
specify terms and conditions which transfer arrangements must
include.
(4)
Regulations under subsection (1) may include—
(a)
provision with respect to the recovery of debt to which a person
is entitled by virtue of transfer arrangements;
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(b)
provision enabling the Commission in prescribed
circumstances to prevent a person entitled to debt by virtue of
transfer arrangements from taking steps to recover it;
(c)
provision enabling the Commission to supply information of a
prescribed description to a person entitled to debt by virtue of
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transfer arrangements for the purpose of enabling the debt to be
recovered.”

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
Part 3 — Child support etc.
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Miscellaneous
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Additional special case
In section 42(2) of the Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48) (examples of cases in
relation to which the power under subsection (1) to prescribe circumstances in
which a case is to be treated as a special case for the purposes of the Act may
5
be exercised), at the end insert—
“(g)
the same persons are the parents of two or more children and
each parent is—
(i)
a non-resident parent in relation to one or more of the
children, and
10
(ii)
a person with care in relation to one or more of the
children.”
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Recovery of arrears from deceased’s estate
After section 43 of the Child Support Act 1991 insert—
“43A
Recovery of arrears from deceased’s estate
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(1)
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the
recovery from the estate of a deceased person of arrears of child
support maintenance for which the deceased person was liable
immediately before death.
(2)
Regulations under subsection (1) may, in particular—
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(a)
make provision for arrears of child support maintenance for
which a deceased person was so liable to be a debt payable by
the deceased’s executor or administrator out of the deceased’s
estate to the Commission;
(b)
make provision for establishing the amount of any such arrears;
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(c)
make provision about procedure in relation to claims under the
regulations.
(3)
Regulations under subsection (1) may include provision for
proceedings (whether by appeal or otherwise) to be instituted,
continued or withdrawn by the deceased’s executor or administrator.”
30
35
Disclosure of information to credit reference agencies
After section 49A of the Child Support Act 1991 (inserted by section 32 of this
Act) insert—
“49B
Disclosure of information to credit reference agencies
(1)
Subject to subsection (3), the Commission may supply qualifying
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information to a credit reference agency for use for the purpose of
furnishing information relevant to the financial standing of
individuals.
(2)
The reference in subsection (1) to qualifying information is to
information which—
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(a)
is held by the Commission for the purposes of this Act,
(b)
relates to a person who is liable to pay child support
maintenance, and

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
Part 3 — Child support etc.
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(c)
is of a prescribed description.
(3)
Information may not be supplied under subsection (1) without the
consent of the person to whom it relates, unless a liability order against
that person is in force.
(4)
No provision may be made under section 14(3) authorising the supply
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of information by the Commission to credit reference agencies.
(5)
In this section, “credit reference agency” has the same meaning as in the
Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39).”
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Pilot schemes
After section 51 of the Child Support Act 1991 insert—
10
“51A
Pilot schemes
(1)
Any regulations made under this Act may be made so as to have effect
for a specified period not exceeding 24 months.
(2)
Regulations which, by virtue of subsection (1), are to have effect for a
limited period are referred to in this section as a “pilot scheme”.
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(3)
A pilot scheme may provide that its provisions are to apply only in
relation to—
(a)
one or more specified areas or localities;
(b)
one or more specified classes of person;
(c)
persons selected by reference to prescribed criteria, or on a
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sampling basis.
(4)
A pilot scheme may make consequential or transitional provision with
respect to the cessation of the scheme on the expiry of the specified
period.
(5)
A pilot scheme may be replaced by a further pilot scheme making the
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same or similar provision.”
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Meaning of “child”
For section 55 of the Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48) substitute—
“55
Meaning of “child”
(1)
In this Act, “child” means (subject to subsection (2)) a person who—
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(a)
has not attained the age of 16, or
(b)
has not attained the age of 20 and satisfies such conditions as
may be prescribed.
(2)
A person who is or has been party to a marriage or civil partnership is
not a child for the purposes of this Act.
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(3)
For the purposes of subsection (2), “marriage” and “civil partnership”
include a void marriage and a void civil partnership respectively.”
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Extinction of liability in respect of interest and fees
Any outstanding liability in respect of the following is extinguished—

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
Part 4 — Lump sum payments: mesothelioma etc.
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(a)
interest under the Child Support (Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of
Maintenance Assessments) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1816);
(b)
fees under the Child Support Fees Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/3094).
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Use of information
Schedule 6 (which makes provision about the use of information for purposes
5
of public administration) has effect.
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Liable relative provisions: exclusion of parental duty to maintain
(1)
In section 105 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5) (failure to
maintain), for subsection (3) substitute—
“(3)
Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of this Part, a person shall be
10
liable to maintain another person if that other person is—
(a)
his or her spouse or civil partner, or
(b)
a person whom he or she would be liable to maintain if sections
78(6)(c) and (9) had effect for the purposes of this Part.”
(2)
In that section, in subsection (4), for the words from “a person” to the end,
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substitute “subsection (3)(b) shall not apply”.
Part 4
Lump sum payments: mesothelioma etc.
Mesothelioma lump sum payments
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Lump sum payments
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(1)
A claim for a payment under this Part may be made by—
(a)
a person with diffuse mesothelioma, or
(b)
a dependant of a person who, immediately before death, had diffuse
mesothelioma.
(2)
The Secretary of State must make the payment to the claimant if satisfied that
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the conditions of entitlement in section 42 are fulfilled.
(3)
Regulations—
(a)
may prescribe the amount of any payment;
(b)
may prescribe different amounts for different cases or classes of cases
or for different circumstances.
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(4)
In this Part—
“dependant” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Pneumoconiosis
etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (c. 41) (“the 1979 Act”);
“diffuse mesothelioma” has the same meaning as in the 1979 Act.
(5)
Where, because of section 3(1)(b) or (d) of the 1979 Act (children, siblings etc.),
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a payment may be claimed by two or more persons, the payment is to be made
to one of them or divided between some or all of them as the Secretary of State
thinks fit.