Maintenance assessments

I111 Maintenance assessments.

1

Any application for a maintenance assessment made to the Secretary of State shall be referred by him to a child support officer whose duty it shall be to deal with the application in accordance with the provision made by or under this Act.

F11A

Where—

a

an application for a maintenance assessment is made under section 6, but

b

the Secretary of State becomes aware, before referring the application to a child support officer, that the claim mentioned in subsection (1) of that section has been disallowed or withdrawn,

he shall, subject to subsection (1B), treat the application as if it had not been made.

1B

If it appears to the Secretary of State that subsection (10) of section 4 would not have prevented the parent with care concerned from making an application for a maintenance assessment under that section he shall—

a

notify her of the effect of this subsection, and

b

if, before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which notice was sent to her, she asks him to do so, treat the application as having been made not under section 6 but under section 4.

1C

Where the application is not preserved under subsection (1B) (and so is treated as not having been made) the Secretary of State shall notify—

a

the parent with care concerned; and

b

the absent parent (or alleged absent parent), where it appears to him that that person is aware of the application.

2

The amount of child support maintenance to be fixed by any maintenance assessment shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Part I of Schedule 1.

3

Part II of Schedule 1 makes further provision with respect to maintenance assessments.

I212 Interim maintenance assessments.

F21

This section applies where a child support officer—

a

is required to make a maintenance assessment;

b

is proposing to conduct a review under section 16, 17, 18 or 19; or

c

is conducting such a review.

1A

If it appears to the child support officer that he does not have sufficient information to enable him—

a

in a case falling within subsection (1)(a), to make the assessment,

b

in a case falling within subsection (1)(b), to conduct the proposed review, or

c

in a case falling within subsection (1)(c), to complete the review,

he may make an interim maintenance assessment.

2

The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to interim maintenance assessments.

3

The regulations may, in particular, make provision as to—

a

the procedure to be followed in making an interim maintenance assessment; and

b

the basis on which the amount of child support maintenance fixed by an interim assessment is to be calculated.

4

Before making any interim assessment a child support officer shall, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, give written notice of his intention to make such an assessment to—

a

the absent parent concerned;

b

the person with care concerned; and

c

where the application for a maintenance assessment was made under section 7, the child concerned.

5

Where a child support officer serves notice under subsection (4), he shall not make the proposed interim assessment before the end of such period as may be prescribed.