Clause 25
Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
2:40 pm
Mark Harper (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Forest of Dean, Conservative)
I shall be brief, because the hon. Gentleman has discussed most of the relevant issues. I simply add one point. He has sought an explanation from the Government. Given our discussion about appeals processes and sanctions, one of the points raised during our discussion of clause 23 was that there is no sense in the sanctions part of the Bill and in being able to pursue sanctions in a different way. Since one has to apply to the court to take away a driving licence, it does not seem sensible that one should not have to apply to the court to take away a travel document. It would make sense to treat those documents in the same way and have a consistent set of processes.
I agree with hon. Gentleman and it will be interesting to hear the Government’s explanation about why there is a difference. If there is not a good reason, it would be helpful if the Committee could be asked to express a view.