The Child Support(Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Collection of child support maintenance

29.—(1) The Department may arrange for the collection of any child support maintenance payable in accordance with a maintenance assessment where—

(a) the assessment is made by virtue of Article 9; or

(b) an application has been made to the Department under Article 7(2) for the Department to arrange for its collection.

(2) Where a maintenance assessment is made under this Order, payments of child support maintenance under the assessment shall be made in accordance with regulations made by the Department.

(3) The regulations may, in particular, make provision—

(a) for payments of child support maintenance to be made—

(i) to the person caring for the child or children in question;

(ii) to, or through, the Department; or

(iii) to, or through, such other person as the Department may specify;

(b) as to the method by which payments of child support maintenance are to be made;

(c) as to the intervals at which such payments are to be made;

(d) as to the method and timing of the transmission of payments which are made to or through the Department or any other person, in accordance with the regulations;

(e) empowering the Department to direct any person liable to make payments in accordance with the assessment—

(i) to make them by standing order or by any other method which requires one person to give his authority for payments 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;

(ii) to open an account from which payments under the assessment may be made in accordance with the method of payment which that person is obliged to adopt;

(f) providing for the making of representations with respect to matters with which the regulations are concerned.