Part II Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure
Orders for periodical payment
F159 Orders for periodical payment: means of payment.
(1)
In any case where a magistrates’ court orders money to be paid periodically by one person (in this section referred to as “the debtor”) to another (in this section referred to as “the creditor”), F2... the court shall at the same time exercise one of its powers under paragraphs (a) and (b) of F3subsection (3) below .
F4(2)
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(3)
The powers of the court are—
(a)
the power to order that payments under the order be made directly by the debtor to the creditor;
(b)
the power to order that payments under the order be made to F5the designated officer for the court or for any other magistrates' court;
F6(c)
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F7(cc)
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F6(d)
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F8(3A)
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(4)
In any case where—
(a)
the court proposes to exercise its power under paragraph (c) of subsection (3) above, and
(b)
having given the debtor an opportunity of opening an account from which payments under the order may be made in accordance with the method of payment proposed to be ordered under that paragraph, the court is satisfied that the debtor has failed, without reasonable excuse, to open such an account,
the court in exercising its power under that paragraph may order that the debtor open such an account.
F9(5)
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(6)
The methods of payment referred to in subsection (3)(c) above are the following, that is to say—
(a)
payment by standing order; or
(b)
payment by any other method which requires one person to give his authority for payments of a specific amount 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 any further authority from him.
F10(7)
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F10(8)
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F10(9)
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F10(10)
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F10(11)
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F10(12)
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F1159A Orders for periodical payment: proceedings by F12designated officer.
(1)
Where payments under F13an order made by a magistrates' court are required to be made periodically—
(a)
to or through F14the designated officer for a magistrates' court, or
(b)
by any method of payment falling within section 59(6) above,
and any sums payable under the order are in arrear, F15the relevant designated officer shall, if the person for whose benefit the payments are required to be made so requests in writing, and unless it appears F16to that designated officer that it is unreasonable in the circumstances to do so, proceed in his own name for the recovery of those sums.
(2)
Where payments under F13an order made by a magistrates' court are required to be made periodically to or through F17the designated officer for a magistrates' court, the person for whose benefit the payments are required to be made may, at any time during the period in which the payments are required to be so made, give authority in writing to F18the relevant designated officer for him to proceed as mentioned in subsection (3) below.
(3)
Where authority under subsection (2) above is given to F19the relevant designated officer, he shall, unless it appears to him that it is unreasonable in the circumstances to do so, proceed in his own name for the recovery of any sums payable to or through him under the order in question which, on or after the date of the giving of the authority, fall into arrear.
(4)
In any case where—
(a)
authority under subsection (2) above has been given to F20the relevant designated officer, and
(b)
the person for whose benefit the payments are required to be made gives notice in writing to the F21relevant designated officer cancelling the authority,
the authority shall cease to have effect and, accordingly, the F22relevant designated officer shall not continue any proceedings already commenced by virtue of the authority.
(5)
The person for whose benefit the payments are required to be made shall have the same liability for all the costs properly incurred in or about proceedings taken under subsection (1) above at his request or under subsection (3) above by virtue of his authority (including any costs incurred as a result of any proceedings commenced not being continued) as if the proceedings had been taken by him.
(6)
Nothing in subsection (1) or (3) above shall affect any right of a person to proceed in his own name for the recovery of sums payable on his behalf under an order of any court.
(7)
In this section—
F23“the relevant designated officer”, in relation to an order, means—
(a)
in a case where payments under the order are required to be made to or through the designated officer for a magistrates' court, the designated officer for that magistrates' court; F24and
(b)
in a case where such payments are required to be made by any method of payment falling within section 59(6) and the order was made by a magistrates' court, the designated officer for that magistrates' court; F25...
(c)
F25...
F26...
F27...
F2859BMaintenance orders: penalty for breach.
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F2960 Revocation, variation, etc. of orders for periodical payment.
(1)
Where a magistrates’ court has made an order for money to be paid periodically by one person to another, the court may, by order on complaint, revoke, revive or vary the order.
(2)
The power under subsection (1) above to vary an order shall include power to suspend the operation of any provision of the order temporarily and to revive the operation of any provision so suspended.
F30(3)
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F30(4)
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F30(5)
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F30(6)
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F30(7)
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F30(8)
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F30(9)
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F30(10)
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F30(10A)
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F30(10B)
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(11)
For the purposes of this section—
(a)
“creditor” and “debtor” have the same meaning as they have in section 59 above; F31...
F31(b)
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61 Periodical payments payable by one person under more than one order.
(1)
F32Rules of court may make provision—
(a)
for enabling a person to make one complaint for the recovery of payments required to be made to him by another person under more than one periodical payments order; and
(b)
for apportioning between two or more periodical payments orders, in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules, any sum paid to F33the designated officer for a magistrates' court on any date by the person liable to make payments under the orders which is less than the total sum required to be paid on that date to F34that designated officer by that person in respect of those orders (being orders one of which requires payments to be made for the benefit of a child to the person with whom the child has his home and one or more of which requires payments to be made to that person either for his own benefit or for the benefit of another child who has his home with him) F35and sums paid into court in pursuance of orders under section 35 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 (compensation orders).
(2)
In this section—
“child” means a person who has not attained the age of 18;
“periodical payments order” means an order made by a magistrates’ court F36... which requires the making of periodical payments,
and any payments required under a periodical payments order to be made to a child shall for the purposes of subsection (1) above be treated as if they were required to be made to the person with whom the child has his home.