Power to permanently withhold or reduce a participant’s periodic support payments
46.—(1) Where the Authority is satisfied that there has been a material or repeated failure by a participant to comply with an ongoing obligation during any quarterly period and the periodic support payment for that quarterly period has not been paid, the Authority may take one or more of the following actions—
(a)permanently withhold a proportion of the participant’s periodic support payment which corresponds to the proportion of that quarterly period during which the participant failed so to comply;
(b)reduce a participant’s periodic support payment for that quarterly period or for the quarterly period immediately following.
(2) Within 21 days of a decision to permanently withhold or to reduce a periodic support payment, the Authority must send a notice to the participant specifying, as applicable—
(a)the respect in which the participant has failed so to comply;
(b)the reason why a periodic support payment is being withheld or reduced;
(c)the period in respect of which any periodic support payment is to be withheld or reduced;
(d)the level of any reduction; and
(e)details of the participant’s right of review including any relevant time-limits.
(3) Where reducing a periodic support payment in accordance with paragraph (1)(b), the Authority may determine the level of the reduction (taking into consideration all factors which it considers relevant) up to a maximum reduction of 10 per cent of the periodic support payment in question.