20.This section places a duty on the Secretary of State to make a maintenance calculation. It provides, for the purposes of revision, supersession and appeal, that the outcome of the calculation is a decision about whether child support maintenance is payable.
21.New section 11(1) and (2) provide that the Secretary of State shall deal with an application for a maintenance calculation in accordance with the Act and make a decision about whether, and how much, child maintenance is payable, or decide not to make a calculation, or make a decision under section 12.
22.New section 11(3) to (5) allow the Secretary of State to stop acting on an application treated as made under section 6(3) if the parent with care ceases to fall within section 6(1). (Section 6(3) of the 1991 Act is substituted by section 3 of this Act. It provides that a parent with care who claims or receives Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance can be treated as having applied for a maintenance calculation). However, if the parent with care still wants to apply for a maintenance calculation (in other words she wants it treated as though she has applied under section 4 of the 1991 Act) and there is no court order or pre-1993 written maintenance agreement* in place preventing this, then she has one month to respond to the letter telling her that the Secretary of State intends to stop acting. Where the parent with care is content for the Secretary of State to stop acting on her application, but the non-resident parent has already been contacted, then the non-resident parent must be notified. If the parent with care is herself prevented from applying under section 4 then she must be notified of this. These provisions mirror subsections (1A), (1B) and (1C) of the existing section 11.
23.New section 11(6) provides that the amount of a maintenance calculation shall be fixed by the rates set out in Part I of Schedule 1.
24.New section 11(7) provides for maintenance where a variation has been agreed to. New section 11(8) refers to Part II of Schedule 1.
25.Subsection (2) of section 1 amends the 1991 Act to replace existing child support terminology, where it appears in the 1991 Act, with the new terminology to be used in the reformed child support scheme.
	Maintenance calculation will replace maintenance assessment.
	Calculation will replace assessment wherever it occurs in connection with an assessment of maintenance.
26.Subsection (3) introduces a new Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1991 Act.
Part 1: Child Support. Commentary on Sections Maintenance calculations and interim and default maintenance decisions New section 11: Maintenance calculations