# Child Support Act 1991, Section 41: Arrears of child support maintenance.

Extent: E+W+S

(1) This section applies where—
(a) the Secretary of State is authorised under section 4 ... or 7 to recover child support maintenance payable by a non-resident parent in accordance with a maintenance calculation; and
(b) the non-resident parent has failed to make one or more payments of child support maintenance due from him in accordance with that calculation.
(2) Where the Secretary of State recovers any such arrears the Secretary of State may, in such circumstances as may be prescribed and to such extent as may be prescribed, retain them if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the amount of any benefit paid to or in respect of the person with care of the child or children in question would have been less had the non-resident parent made the payment or payments of child support maintenance in question.
(2A) In determining for the purposes of subsection (2) whether the amount of any benefit paid would have been less at any time than the amount which was paid at that time, in a case where the maintenance calculation had effect from a date earlier than that on which it was made, the calculation shall be taken to have been in force at that time.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) Any sums retained by the Secretary of State by virtue of this section shall be paid by the Secretary of State into the Consolidated Fund.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/48/section/41 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/child-support-act-1991/section-41
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.