Child Maintenance Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

Power to accept part payment of arrears in full and final satisfaction

23.  After Article 38C of the Child Support Order (inserted by section 22) insert—

“Power to accept part payment of arrears in full and final satisfaction

38D.— (1) The Department may, in relation to any arrears of child support maintenance, accept payment of part in satisfaction of liability for the whole.

(2) The Department must by regulations make provision with respect to the exercise of the power under paragraph (1).

(3) The regulations must provide that unless one of the conditions in paragraph (4) is satisfied the Department may not exercise the power under paragraph (1) without the written consent of the person with care with respect to whom the maintenance calculation was made.

(4) The conditions are—

(a) that the Department would be entitled to retain the whole of the arrears under Article 38(2) if it recovered them;

(b) that the Department would be entitled to retain part of the arrears under Article 38(2) if it recovered them, and the part of the arrears that the Department would not be entitled to retain is equal to or less than the payment accepted under paragraph (1).”.