69Recovery of charges, interest etc.
(1)Any sum due to a local authority under this Part is recoverable by the authority as a debt due to it.
(2)But subsection (1) does not apply in a case where a deferred payment agreement could, in accordance with regulations under section 34(1), be entered into, unless—
(a)the local authority has sought to enter into such an agreement with the adult from whom the sum is due, and
(b)the adult has refused.
(3)A sum is recoverable under this section—
(a)in a case in which the sum becomes due to the local authority on or after the commencement of this section, within six years of the date the sum becomes due;
(b)in any other case, within three years of the date on which it becomes due.
(4)Where a person misrepresents or fails to disclose (whether fraudulently or otherwise) to a local authority any material fact in connection with the provisions of this Part, the following sums are due to the authority from the person—
(a)any expenditure incurred by the authority as a result of the misrepresentation or failure, and
(b)any sum recoverable under this section which the authority has not recovered as a result of the misrepresentation or failure.
(5)The costs incurred by a local authority in recovering or seeking to recover a sum due to it under this Part are recoverable by the authority as a debt due to it.
(6)Regulations may—
(a)make provision for determining the date on which a sum becomes due to a local authority for the purposes of this section;
(b)specify cases or circumstances in which a sum due to a local authority under this Part is not recoverable by it under this section;
(c)specify cases or circumstances in which a local authority may charge interest on a sum due to it under this Part;
(d)where interest is chargeable, provide that it—
(i)must be charged at a rate specified in or determined in accordance with the regulations, or
(ii)may not be charged at a rate that exceeds the rate specified in or determined in accordance with the regulations.