Citation and interpretation

1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2008.

(2) In this Order—

“the 1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991 ( 2 );

“the relevant date” means the 27th October 2008.

(3) In this Order, except where otherwise stated, any reference to a numbered section or Schedule is a reference to a section of, or Schedule to, the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.

Appointed days for sections 20 and 36

2. The following provisions come into force on 26th September 2008 for the purpose of making regulations and on the relevant date for all other purposes—

(a) section 20 (use of deduction from earnings orders as basic method of payment); and

(b) section 36 (offence of failing to notify change of address).

Appointed day for other provisions

3. So far as not already in force, the following provisions come into force on the relevant date—

(a) section 15(a) (repeal of section 6 of the 1991 Act);

(b) sections 57(1) and 58, so far as relating to the paragraphs and entries referred to in sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) below;

(c) paragraph 2(1) and (2) of Schedule 7 (minor and consequential amendments); and

(d) in Schedule 8 (repeals), the entries relating to repeals in—

(i) sections 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 26, 27, 27A, 28, 28A, 28F, 28J, 29, 41 and 52 of, and Schedules 4A and 4B to, the 1991 Act;

(ii) sections 107 and 122(3) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992( 3 ); and

(iii) section 3 of, and paragraphs 11(3) to (6), (8) to (10), (13)(a) and (22) of Schedule 3 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000( 4 ).

Transitional and savings provisions

4. —(1) Any existing case, as defined in paragraph (2), is to be treated from the relevant date as though the person with care had made an application under section 4 of the 1991 Act.

(2) In paragraph (1) an existing case is one in which, immediately before 14th July 2008, section 6 of the 1991 Act applied in relation to a parent with care and—

(a) a maintenance calculation or assessment was in force as a result of the Secretary of State acting under that section; or

(b) no maintenance calculation or assessment had been made but the Secretary of State had given notice in accordance with regulation 5 of the Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 2000( 5 ) or regulation 5 of the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992( 6 ).

(3) Paragraph (1) is not to apply in any case where the maintenance assessment or calculation ceases to have effect, or would have ceased to have effect had it been made, before the relevant date.

(4) The repeal of section 6 of the 1991 Act is not to prevent the Secretary of State from exercising any powers that he would have otherwise had under section 41 of the 1991 Act to recover and retain arrears of child support maintenance accrued in relation to any period before the relevant date.