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Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

Amendment No. 84 would prevent parents who have a maintenance order made by consent, or minutes of agreement registered in the Books of Council and Session or the sheriff court books, from making an application to the commission for a maintenance calculation. At present, they may apply once the order or minute has been in force for 12 months. Although the preamble to the amendment has changed a little, we understand the intent. I start by thanking my noble friend Lady Hollis for reminding us in her powerful intervention about the history of this provision and why it was introduced in the first place. It is our understanding from responses to our consultation that solicitors support the use of the child maintenance formula for agreeing the level of child maintenance when that is done through the court. This negotiating ““in the shadow of the CSA”” has proved to be powerful. They said that it is a useful guide and that even without the 12-month rule they would advise their clients to agree maintenance at a similar level to the formula. In terms of removing Section 6 compulsion, we are extending choice that is available to parents. The existing 12-month rule applies where parents have a maintenance order or registered minute of agreement made on or after 3 March 2003. It has two main purposes. When agreement between parents breaks down, it provides a swift and readily available route into the commission so that children are not left for considerable periods with either no maintenance or inadequate arrangements. It also encourages agreements that contain levels of child maintenance broadly consistent with the amount calculated under the statutory scheme and discourages agreements that divide up property and assets between adults and leave children without regular, ongoing payments of child maintenance. We do not wish to restrict any effective and agreed maintenance arrangements, in whatever form, to 12 months, 48 months or any other period of time. In fact, the repeal of Section 6 will break the link with the benefit system so that any existing maintenance arrangements will not be overturned simply because the parent with care claims benefit. Only the action of one or both parents can do that. We want to encourage dialogue and agreement between parents which leads to effective maintenance arrangements providing ongoing support for children. As long as parents are happy that their arrangements are providing adequate maintenance for their children they can continue. Our hope is that parents will not need to turn to the commission for a calculation under the statutory scheme. The agreements will continue and benefit the children for as long as both parents want them to. However, if things do go wrong, or a parent decides that another type of arrangement would be more suitable for their children, they need a readily available route into the commission. Children must not be left for considerable periods with either no maintenance or inadequate arrangements—neither should we lock parents into agreements that are no longer working. Amendments Nos. 194 and 195 apply only to registered minutes of agreement. They extend the 12-month rule to 48 months and would prevent those with a registered minute of agreement made on or after 3 March 2003, which has been in place for less than 48 months, from making an application to the commission for a maintenance calculation. Registered minutes of agreement have many advantages, but if circumstances change and the original agreement needs adjustment, difficulties may arise. If parents cannot agree, there are limited circumstances in which they may apply to the court to vary the financial arrangements and, in the case of parents who were never married or in a civil partnership, the opportunity for variation is often severely restricted. We believe that a 12-month period strikes the balance between giving registered minutes of agreement a chance to bed in and work and providing a means to resolve difficulties quickly and keep payments flowing. Those are all very good reasons for the 12-month rule to stay as it is and why a period of 12 months is preferable to an extended period of 48 months. The 12-month rule gives time for agreements to bed in and work but allows swift intervention by the commission to keep maintenance flowing to children. Therefore, it puts parents with court orders and registered minutes of agreement on the same footing as any other separated parents. On the basis of that explanation, I hope that the noble Lord will not press the amendment.