Power to reduce a participant’s periodic support payments
80.—(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)reduce the participant’s periodic support payment by an amount 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 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 to comply with an ongoing obligation;
(b)the reason why a periodic support payment is being reduced;
(c)the period in respect of which any periodic support payment is to be reduced;
(d)the level of any reduction; and
(e)details of the participant’s right of review.
(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% of the periodic support payment in question.