---

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

In speaking to Amendment No. 174, I shall speak also to government Amendments Nos. 175 to 177, 215 and 217. I thank the noble Lord for moving Amendment No. 174, which seeks to give the commission the power to make an administrative freezing order in relation to any real property and capital as soon as a non-resident parent has missed a payment of child support maintenance. As part of this group I propose government amendments which enable the freezing of non-resident parents’ assets. I hope that my explanation of these amendments will cover the point raised. In Committee in another place, the Government agreed to consider an amendment that would provide the commission with a power to apply, in appropriate circumstances, to the court for a freezing order. Following that consideration, the Government agree that this would be a useful addition to the commission’s enforcement tools. The government amendment would apply where there is evidence that a non-resident parent is about to dispose of assets or remove them from the commission’s jurisdiction with the intention of avoiding payment of child maintenance. It would enable the commission to apply to the court for an order freezing those assets. Indeed, we propose to go one stage further. The government amendment would also enable the commission to ask the court to satisfy the disposition which had already been made. The court will also be given the power to make consequential directions and orders as it sees fit to give effect to the order. The number of cases in which the commission will have firm evidence of the non-resident parent’s intention to dispose of his assets is likely to be very small; nevertheless, the provisions will enable the commission to act quickly to secure maintenance where such evidence comes to light. It will act as a deterrent to non-resident parents who would otherwise be prepared to enter into transactions to prevent enforcement of their parental responsibilities. I recognise the sentiment behind Amendment No. 174, but, as I said, is the same as what I have just outlined. As drafted, the power to freeze assets as described would be a step too far. Not only would there be practical and operational difficulties for the commission, the commission would be given administrative powers comparable to those operated by the High Court but without appeal rights. The noble Lord’s amendment would give the commission the power to make an administrative order which would freeze all assets and it would apply equally to those assets owned wholly or jointly by a non-resident parent and could be applied as soon as a payment for child maintenance had been missed. The freezing order would remain in force until the outstanding arrears had been settled. That provision does not contain any safeguards in relation to the exercise of this power, nor is there a right of appeal, as I said. In considering whether the proposal is proportionate, we need to bear in mind that the commission will have several additional enforcement options that are not currently available to the Child Support Agency. They include, as we have discussed, lump sum deduction orders, which will allow the commission to freeze and then seize assets from a number of different types of accounts. I believe that the collection and enforcement provisions will go a long way towards meeting the aims behind the noble Lord’s amendment. I invite him to withdraw his amendment and to support the government amendments.