Commentary on Sections Part 6: Miscellaneous Section 137: Collection of child support maintenance
698.Section 4 of the Child Support Act 1991 provides that a person with care or a non-resident parent may apply for a maintenance calculation under that Act. Section 4(2) provides that once a calculation has been made, it is open to either the person with care or the non-resident parent to ask the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission to arrange for the collection of the maintenance payable.
699.Section 137(2) repeals some of the wording in section 4(2), and inserts a new subsection (2A). Taken together, the changes mean that if a person with care asks the Commission to collect the maintenance payable, the Commission will only do so if the non-resident parent agrees, or where it is satisfied that the non-resident parent is unlikely to make payments.
700.Section 137(3) makes corresponding amendments to section 7 of the Child Support Act 1991 which relates to an application for a maintenance calculation made by a child in Scotland.