231.New section 41A(1) provides for regulations that allow the Secretary of State to require a non-resident parent who is late in paying child support maintenance to make a penalty payment. Regulations will further provide the way in which penalties are calculated.
232.New section 41A(2) makes the amount of a penalty payment discretionary but limits the amount to be charged to 25 per cent of the amount due for that week.
233.New section 41A(3) provides that the amount of the child support maintenance arrears remains due even when a financial penalty has been imposed. The financial penalty is not child support maintenance and is not passed on to the parent with care.
234.New section 41A(4) provides for regulations to:
235.New section 41A(5) allows regulations on collection and enforcement to apply to penalty payments in the same way as they do to child maintenance payments. Therefore the Secretary of State will have exactly the same powers to collect and enforce penalty payments and may combine this action with action to collect and enforce child maintenance.
236.New section 41A(6) provides that any payment collected must be paid into the Consolidated Fund and is therefore not paid over to the parent with care.
Part 1: Child Support. Commentary on Sections Financial penalties New section 41A: Penalty payments