New Clause 22
Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill
4:45 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
I am sure that I can see a glint in your eye, Mr. Taylor, as we reach the last new clause on the amendment paper. New clause 22 is similar to new clause 19, which we have just debated, but it relates to cases in which the commission has been trying for more than a year without success to recover debts owed to a parent with care.
The new clause would give parents with care the power, if they chose to use it—it would not force them to do anything—to approach a magistrates court or the sheriff in Scotland to seek enforcement of the debt owed to them. That useful measure would enable the parent with care to take some control over their case and would provide an incentive for CMEC to ensure that it was as successful as possible in collecting debt. I commend the new clause to the Minister.