HL Deb 19 May 1970 vol 310 cc1004-5

[No. 17]

Clause 15, page 13, line 39, leave out from "order" to end of line 44 and insert—

  1. "(a) ceases to have effect under section 9(2) of the Act of 1958 (registration of related maintenance order, committal of debtor for arrears, etc.) or under section 14 of this Act; or
  2. (b) is discharged under this section,
the person to whom the order has been directed shall not incur any liability in consequence of his treating the order as still in force at any time before the expiration of seven days from the date when the notice required by the said section 9(2) or section 14 or, as the case may be, a copy of the discharging order is served on him."

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in Amendment No. 17. Clause 15(6) is intended to protect an employer who is administering an attachment of earnings order from action for continuing to treat it as operative when in fact it has ceased to operate. The employer has to be informed by the court that the order has ceased to operate, and he is given seven days from receipt of this information to comply with it. As drafted, the subsection covers two situations: first, where the order has been varied, and secondly where it has been discharged by the court. It is, however, unnecessary for the subsection to cover the situation where the order has been varied, because this is already dealt with in subsection (2). On the other hand, it ought to cover the situation where an attachment order which has been made to secure payments under a maintenance order ceases to have effect because of one of the circumstances set out in Section 9(2) of the 1958 Act or the new subsection (3) in Clause 14: for example, where the related maintenance order has been registered for enforcement in another court or has been discharged.

This Amendment therefore substitutes the new subsection which provides that the employer must have been notified by the court that the attachment of earnings order has ceased to have effect, or have received a copy of the discharging order, and at least seven days must have elapsed since he received the notice or the discharging order before he becomes liable for treating as operative an order which has ceased to have effect or has been discharged. I beg to move.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendment.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.