Armed Forces Act 1971

59 Army and air force: new provision for deductions in respect of judgment debts etc.

(1) Section 150(1) of the [1955 c. 18.] Army Act 1955 and section 150(1) of the [1955 c. 19.] Air Force Act 1955 (deductions from pay in respect of maintenance orders and legal aid contribution orders) shall each be amended by omitting paragraph (d) (legal aid contribution orders), and the following provision shall be inserted in each Act after section 151 (but, in the case of the Air Force Act 1955, modified by the substitution throughout of " regular air force " for " regular forces "):—

“151A Deductions from pay in respect of judgment debts etc.

(1) Where by any judgment or order enforceable by a court in the United Kingdom any sum is required to be paid by a person who is a member of the regular forces, the Defence Council or an officer authorised by them may, whether or not that person was a member of the regular forces at the time when the judgment or order was given or made, order such amount or amounts as the Council or officer think fit to be deducted from the pay of that person, and appropriated in or towards satisfaction of that sum:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any such sum as is mentioned in section 146 of this Act, to any sum in respect of which deductions may be ordered under section 150 of this Act, or to any sum in respect of which deductions may be made by virtue of section 32(2)(b) of the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968.

(2) The Defence Council or an officer authorised by them may by order vary or revoke any order previously made under this section, and may treat any order made under this section as being in suspense at any time while the person against whom the order was made is absent as mentioned in section 145(1)(a) of this Act.”

(2) The following subsection shall be substituted for subsection (1) of section 152 of the Army Act 1955 and subsection (1) of section 152 of the Air Force Act 1955 (under which deductions under sections 150 and 151 of those Acts must not together exceed a specified proportion of pay):—

“(1) The sums deducted from a person's pay under sections 150, 151 and 151A above shall not together exceed such proportion of his pay as the Defence Council may determine.”;

and section 152(2) of each Act (effect of deductions under sections 150 and 151 on forfeitures) shall be amended by, substituting, for the words " under either of the two last foregoing sections the words "under section 150, 151 or 151A above. "