Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008

Part 1Consequential amendments

Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48)

1The Child Support Act 1991 (c. 48) is amended as follows.

2In section 2 (welfare of children: the general principle)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”;

(c)for “his” substitute “its”.

3(1)Section 4 (child support maintenance) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (2)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(5)In subsection (4), for “Secretary of State” (in the first and third places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

(6)In subsection (5)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(7)In subsections (6) and (7), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

4(1)Section 6 (applications by those claiming or receiving benefit) is amended as follows.

(2)After subsection (2) insert—

(2A)The Secretary of State must notify the Commission of circumstances giving rise to the application of this section.

(3)In subsections (3) and (4), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(4)In subsection (5)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(5)In subsection (7), for “Secretary of State's” substitute “Commission's”.

(6)In subsection (8), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(7)In subsection (9)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(8)In subsection (10), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(9)In subsection (11), for “he” (in the second place where it occurs) substitute “the Commission”.

(10)In subsection (12), for “Secretary of State's” substitute “Commission's”.

5(1)Section 7 (right of child in Scotland to apply for calculation) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsections (1) and (2), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (4)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(5)In subsection (5), for “Secretary of State” (in the first and third places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

(6)In subsections (6) and (7), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(7)In subsection (8)(b), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

6In section 8 (role of the courts with respect to maintenance for children), in subsections (1) and (2), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

7(1)Section 10 (relationship between maintenance calculations and certain court orders etc.) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (4)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in the second and third places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (5), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

8(1)Section 11 (maintenance calculations) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)for “Secretary of State ”substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (2)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “the Commission”.

(5)In subsection (4)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “the Commission”;

(c)for “him” substitute “the Commission”.

(6)In subsection (5)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “the Commission”.

(7)In subsection (7)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

9(1)Section 12 (default and interim maintenance decisions) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him”, in the first place where it occurs, substitute “the Commission” and, in the second place where it occurs, substitute “it”;

(c)for “he” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (2), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

10(1)Section 14 (information required by Secretary of State) is amended as follows.

(2)In the title, for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (3), for “him” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “the Commission”.

(4)In subsection (4), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

11(1)Section 15 (powers of inspectors) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (2), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

12In section 16 (revision of decisions)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “his” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “its”;

(c)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”;

(d)for “him” substitute “it”.

13In section 17 (decisions superseding earlier decisions)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “his” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “its”;

(c)for “him” substitute “it”.

14(1)Section 20 (appeals to appeal tribunals) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsections (1)(a) and (b), (2)(a)(i), (7)(b) and (8)(b), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

15In section 23A (redetermination of appeals), in subsection (4), before paragraph (a) insert—

(za)the Commission;.

16(1)Section 24 (appeal to Child Support Commissioner) is amended as follows.

(2)For subsection (1) substitute—

(1)Each of the following may appeal to a Child Support Commissioner on a question of law—

(a)the Commission,

(b)the Secretary of State, and

(c)any person who is aggrieved by the decision of an appeal tribunal.

(3)In subsection (3)(c) and (d), before “the Secretary of State” insert “the Commission or”.

(4)In subsection (4)—

(a)before “the Secretary of State” insert “the Commission or”;

(b)for “to an officer of his, or a person providing him with services,” substitute “to an officer of, or a person providing services to, the Commission or the Secretary of State,”.

(5)In subsection (8), before “the Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) insert “the Commission or”.

17In section 25 (appeal from Child Support Commissioner on question of law), in subsection (3), after paragraph (a) insert—

(aa)the Commission;.

18In section 26 (disputes about parentage), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

19In section 27 (applications for declaration of parentage) for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

20In section 27A (recovery of fees for scientific tests)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”.

21In section 28 (power to initiate or defend actions of declarator), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs, including the title) substitute “Commission”.

22In section 28ZA (decisions involving issues that arise on appeal in other cases)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”;

(c)for “his” substitute “its”.

23In section 28ZB (appeals involving issues that arise on appeal in other cases)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “the Commission”;

(c)for “him” substitute “the Commission”;

(d)for “his” substitute “its”.

24In section 28ZC (restrictions on liability in certain cases of error), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

25In section 28A (application for variation of usual rules for calculating maintenance), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

26(1)Section 28B (preliminary consideration of applications) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (2)—

(a)for “he” (in the first place where it occurs) substitute “the Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each other place where it occurs) substitute “it”;

(c)for “his” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “its”;

(d)for “him” substitute “the Commission”.

27In section 28C (imposition of regular payments condition), in subsections (1) and (3) to (7)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”;

(c)for “his” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “its”.

28In section 28D (determination of applications)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

29In section 28E (matters to be taken into account)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

30In section 28F (agreement to variation)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”;

(c)for “his” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “its”.

31In section 28J (voluntary payments), in subsections (1), (2) and (4)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”.

32(1)Section 29 (collection of child support maintenance) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)in paragraph (b), for “him” substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (3), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

33(1)Section 30 (collection and enforcement of other forms of maintenance) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsections (1), (2) and (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “it”.

(3)In subsection (4)—

(a)for “him” substitute “the Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in the second place where it occurs) substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (5)—

(a)for “him” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “the Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in the first place where it occurs) substitute “it”.

34In section 31 (deduction from earnings orders)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)in subsection (6), for “he” substitute “it”.

35In section 32 (regulations about deduction from earnings orders), in subsections (2) and (3), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

36In section 33 (liability orders), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

37In section 34 (regulations about liability orders), in subsections (1)(a) and (c) and (2), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

38(1)Section 35 (enforcement of liability orders by distress) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “his” substitute “its”.

39In section 37 (regulations about liability orders), in subsection (2), for “Secretary of State” (in the second place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

40In section 38 (enforcement of liability orders by diligence), subsection (1) is amended as follows—

(a)in paragraph (a), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)in paragraph (aa) (inserted by paragraph 18(a)(i) of schedule 5 to the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 3)), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(c)in the words at the end, the reference to the Secretary of State (in effect repealed by paragraph 18(a)(ii) of that schedule) has effect until the coming into force of that paragraph as a reference to the Commission.

41In section 39A (commitment to prison and disqualification from driving)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”;

(b)in subsections (1) and (4), for “he” substitute “it”.

42(1)Section 40B (disqualification from driving) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsections (5) to (8), for “Secretary of State” (in each place where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (9)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

43(1)Section 41 (arrears of child support maintenance) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (2)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (6)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

44(1)Section 41A (penalty payments) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1), for “him” substitute “the Commission”.

(3)In subsections (2) and (4), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(4)In subsection (6)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

45(1)Section 41B (repayment of overpaid child support maintenance) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In subsection (1A)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

(4)In subsection (2), for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

(5)In subsection (3)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”;

(c)for “him” substitute “it”.

(6)In subsections (4), (5) and (6)(a), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(7)In subsection (9)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “him” substitute “it”.

46In section 44 (jurisdiction), in subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

47In section 46 (reduced benefit decisions), in subsection (3)(a), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

48In section 46A (finality of decisions), in subsection (1), after “decision of” insert “the Commission,”.

49In section 46B (matters arising as respects decisions), in subsection (1)(a), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

50In section 48 (right of audience), in subsection (1), for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

51After section 50 insert—

50AUse of computers

Any decision falling to be made under or by virtue of this Act by the Commission may be made, not only by a person authorised to exercise the Commission’s decision-making function, but also by a computer for whose operation such a person is responsible.

52(1)Schedule 1 (maintenance calculations) is amended as follows.

(2)In paragraph 7(3), for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(3)In paragraph 10(2)—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “his” substitute “its”.

(4)In paragraph 10B(a), for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

(5)In paragraphs 12 and 13, for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”.

(6)In paragraph 15—

(a)for “Secretary of State” substitute “Commission”;

(b)for “he” substitute “it”.

(7)In paragraph 16(10), for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

53In paragraph 4 of Schedule 4A, for “Secretary of State” (in both places where it occurs) substitute “Commission”.

Social Security Act 1998 (c. 14)

54In paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Act 1998 (c. 14) (report on the standards achieved in the making of decisions against which an appeal lies to an appeal tribunal), after “Secretary of State” (in the first and second places where it occurs) insert “and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission”.