Terms of the agreementE+W+S
5.—(1) For the purposes of section 27(4) of the 2000 Act, the terms which may be specified in the agreement are—
(a)the period of the agreement;
(b)payment of the child support maintenance payable in accordance with the maintenance assessment and, where relevant, the arrears, by whichever of the following methods the Secretary of State specifies as being appropriate in the circumstances—
(i)by standing order;
(ii)by any other method which requires one person to give his authority for payments to be made from an account of his to an account of another’s on specific dates during the period for which the authority is in force and without the need for further authority from him;
(iii)by an arrangement whereby one person gives his authority for payments to be made from an account of his, or on his behalf, to another person or to an account of that other person;
(iv)by cheque or postal order;
(v)in cash;
(vi)by debit card;
(vii)where the Secretary of State has made a deduction from earnings order under section 31 of the Child Support Act—
(aa)by cheque;
(bb)by automated credit transfer; or
(cc)by such other method as the Secretary of State may specify;
(c)the amount of the arrears that the absent parent is required to pay (which shall include at least the last 6 months of the arrears due under the maintenance assessment);
(d)the day and interval by reference to which payments of the arrears are to be made by the absent parent; and
(e)the confirmation by the Secretary of State that he will not, while the agreement is complied with, take action to recover any of the arrears.
(2) In this regulation “debit card" means a card, operating as a substitute for a cheque, that can be used to obtain cash or to make a payment at a point of sale whereby the card holder’s bank or building society account is debited without deferment of payment.