Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

We come to the final group of amendments. They are minor and technical, and in most cases reflect the recommendations of the third report of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Lords. The amendments change a number of the regulation-making powers from the negative to the affirmative procedure on the first point of use. The relevant powers are those relating to power regarding the monitoring of curfews and regulations prescribing the conditions of entitlement to a lump sum payment for mesothelioma. The group also contains a number of small drafting amendments to ensure consistency, including one to ensure that any reference to maintenance calculations under section 40A of the Child Support Act 1991, relating to an order for committal in Scotland, may be read as a reference to maintenance assessments, so that the provision will operate in relation to both old and new scheme cases. In commending these final, technical amendments to the House, I should like to extend my thanks to all who have worked on the passage of the Bill, including Opposition Members and those in another place who have worked to ensure that it emerges improved as a result of the scrutiny that it has rightly enjoyed. The Bill contains important measures. It makes important reforms to the way child maintenance is administered and will help to lift many more children out of poverty, ensuring that more children receive the maintenance due to them and that more parents meet their financial responsibilities. The Bill also introduces a new scheme to pay a lump sum to sufferers of mesothelioma, providing financial support to anyone diagnosed with that dreadful disease. I should also like to thank those external stakeholders who have contributed to the development and improvement of the legislation, including One Parent Families/Gingerbread, Families Need Fathers, Resolution, the Law Society of Scotland and many others. I know that they will work with the commission and its staff to give the best possible start in life to this new and unique delivery organisation.