Merchant Shipping Act 1970

17 Claims against seaman’s wages for maintenance, etc. of dependants. U.K.

(1) Where, during a seaman’s employment in a ship, expenses are incurred by a responsible authority for the benefit of any dependant of his and the expenses are of a kind specified in regulations under this section and such further conditions, if any, as may be so specified are satisfied, the authority may by notice in writing complying with the regulations require the persons employing the seaman—

(a) to retain for a period specified in the notice such proportion of his net wages as may be so specified; and

(b) to give to the responsible authority as soon as may be notice in writing of the seaman’s discharge from the ship;

and the persons employing the seaman shall comply with the notice (subject to subsection (3) of this section) and give notice in writing of its contents to the seaman.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the following persons, and no others, shall be taken to be a seaman’s dependants, that is to say, his spouse and any person under the age of [F1 nineteen] whom he is liable, for the purposes of any enactment in force in any part of the United Kingdom, to maintain or in respect of whom he is liable under any such enactment to make contributions to a local authority; and

(b) expenses incurred for the benefit of any person include (in addition to any payments made to him or on his behalf) expenses incurred for providing him with accommodation or care or for exercising supervision over him;

but no expenses shall be specified in regulations under this section unless they are such that a magistrates’ court has power under any enactment in force in any part of the United Kingdom to order the making of payments in respect thereof.

(3) Not more than the following proportion of a seaman’s net wages shall be retained under subsection (1) of this section (whether in pursuance of one or more notices) that is to say,—

(a) one-half if the notice or notices relate to one dependant only;

(b) two-thirds if the notice or notices relate to two or more dependants.

(4) Where a responsible authority have served a notice under this section on the persons employing a seaman a magistrates’ court may, on the application of the authority, make an order for the payment to the authority of such sum, not exceeding the proportion of the seaman’s wages which those persons were required by virtue of this section to retain, as the court, having regard to the expenses incurred by the authority and the seaman’s means, thinks fit.

(5) Any sums paid out of a seaman’s wages in pursuance of an order under this section shall be deemed to be paid to him in respect of his wages; and the service, on the persons who employed the seaman, of such an order or of an order dismissing an application for such an order shall terminate the period for which they were required to retain the wages.

(6) An application for an order under this section for the payment of any sum by the persons who employed a seaman shall be deemed, for the purposes of any proceedings, to be an application for an order against the seaman; but the order, when served on those persons, shall have effect as an order against them and may be enforced accordingly.

(7) Parts I and III of the M1 Maintenance Orders Act 1950 shall have effect as if an order under this section were included among those referred to in subsections (1) and (2) of section 4, subsections (1) and (2) of section 9 and subsections (1) and (2) of section 12 of that Act; and any sum payable by any persons under an order made under this section in any part of the United Kingdom may, in any other part of the United Kingdom, be recovered from them as a debt due to the authority on whose application the order was made.

(8) Any notice or order under this section may be served by registered post or recorded delivery service.

(9) The Board of Trade may make regulations specifying—

(a) the expenses in respect of which a notice may be served by a responsible authority under subsection (1) of this section;

(b) any conditions that must be satisfied if such a notice is to be served;

(c) the period that may be specified in such a notice (being a period beginning with the service of the notice and ending a specified number of days after the seaman’s discharge from his ship);

(d) the form of such a notice and the information to be contained therein; and

(e) the amounts to be deducted from a seaman’s wages in computing his net wages for the purposes of this section;

and the amounts specified under paragraph (e) of this subsection may include amounts allotted by allotment notes issued under section 13 of this Act.

(10) In this section “responsible authority ” means the Secretary of State, the [F2 Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland][F3 ,the Ministry of Home Affairs for Northern Ireland, a Health and Social Services Board acting on behalf of either of those Ministries, or (except in Northern Ireland)] any local authority; . . . F4

(11) [F5 In the application of subsection (2)(a) of this section to Northern Ireland, for the reference to a local authority there shall be substituted a reference to the Ministry of Home Affairs for Northern Ireland or a Health and Social Services Board; and in this section]“magistrates’ court ”—

(a) in relation to Scotland, means the sheriff, and

(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, means a court of summary jurisdiction

[F6 and “Health and Social Services Board ” means such a Board established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972].

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24, SIF 113:1), s. 5(5)

F2 Words substituted by virtue of Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36), Sch. 5 para. 8(1)

F3 Words in s. 17(10) substituted by S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1973/256, art. 3, Sch. 2

F4 Words repealed by Social Security Act 1989 (c. 24, SIF 113:1), s. 31(2), Sch. 9

F5 Words in s. 17(11) substituted by S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1973/256, art. 3, Sch. 2

F6 Words in s. 17(11) inserted by S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1973/256, art. 3, Sch. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Functions of welfare authority, including those in relation to expenses under Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (c. 34) (if such expenses are specified in regulations under the enactment), transferred (N.I.) to Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland or a Health and Social Services Board acting on behalf of Department: S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1973 No. 256, art. 2, Sch. 1, 1973 No. 504, art. 5, Sch. 2 Pt.I and Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36), Sch. 5 para. 8

Marginal Citations

M1 1950 c. 37.