Speeches by Wood.

“Clause 28 gives account holders the right to request a variation to a deduction order, perhaps in a change of circumstances, and clause 29 empowers the Minister to make such variations. I have some questions for the Minister about the measures. Under what circumstances might she expect the Minister for the Cabinet Offi…”

“The clause outlines the procedure when a bank account does not contain sufficient funds to fulfil a direct deduction order. The key provisions are as follows. For lump sum deduction, if the full amount is not available, no deduction is made and the Minister is notified. For regular deductions, if the necessary funds ar…”

“Given the Minister’s reassurances, I will not press amendment 19 to a Division now, but we may wish to come back to the matter on Report. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clauses 22 and 23 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 24 Bank’s administrative costs Question prop…”

“That would leave £120,000, which would mean that in the second month, presumably the most that could be deducted if no further money had been paid into the into the account would be £48,000.”

“I thank the Minister for giving us some clarification on that, but the direct deduction is different from an earning attachment where there is likely to be another similar amount coming in the following month. The Minister suggested I might have £200,000 in my account, which I think would raise a few eyebrows all aroun…”

“Obviously, the Bill allows for sums to be recouped through regular earnings. Where money is in a bank account, we have established that the money is there from the information notices and other measures in the Bill. If the full amount that has been defrauded is available within the account, it seems to make little sens…”

“In the case of non-fraudulent claims, where the Minister is not satisfied that there has been fraud on the part of the liable person, I would be inclined to go with the Government’s figure of 20%. That is reasonable in the case of errors, and it obviously allows for longer-term recovery where a genuine mistake has been…”

“Yes; it is set out quite clearly in amendment 19.”

“Clause 22 outlines how much can be directly deducted from a liable person’s bank account, while clause 23 specifies the information that must be included in direct deduction orders. These provisions are central to the enforcement mechanism and yet there are many questions that remain about their practical implementatio…”

“I beg to move amendment 19, in clause 22, page 14, line 27, leave out from “applies,” to “and” in line 28 and insert “the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period,”.”

“Clause 19 grants the Minister significant powers to obtain financial information from banks before making a direct deduction order, including the ability to request three months of bank statements, or perhaps statements covering a longer period where specified. The power to issue an account information notice requires …”

“Clause 17 establishes that when a payable amount is recoverable, the Minister can issue an order for direct deductions from a liable person’s bank account, either through regular deductions or a lump sum payment, as she said. Clause 18 further clarifies that those deductions can be taken from any account in which the l…”

“As the Minister said, clause 15 establishes that a payable amount is a recoverable amount as defined in previous provisions of the legislation, while clause 16 further grants the Minister the power to apply to the county court for a recovery order. That ensures that a recoverable amount is treated as an enforceable pay…”

“Clause 13 sets out that the Minister can use powers to recover amounts from a penalty, such as late payment, but also relevant costs to be awarded by a court or tribunal. Relevant costs rightly also include costs that are reasonably incurred by the Minister in exercising the powers in chapter 4. Can the Minister share …”

“I am very pleased to have this visibility of an important element of the Bill. That is one of the reasons why it stands out among so many of the references to codes of practice and other regulations yet to be decided. I do not think that the Government will struggle to amend the figure as appropriate, as time goes by, …”

“Where the individual has not notified anyone of their new employment, does the Minister expect a new employer to have any way of finding out that a new employee is subject to one of these orders? Obviously, there is the question of whether employers are aware. Particularly for small employers, I am not sure that they w…”

“As the Minister said, this is a large group of clauses, so I will try to get through them as quickly as I can. However, given that the provisions grant the PSFA the power to impose penalties on individuals and organisations—powers more often associated with a court or a tribunal—it is important that that we are confide…”

“Clause 44 introduces new obligations for liable persons and their employers in relation to deduction from earnings orders. The clause requires that, if a liable person leaves employment, they must notify the Public Sector Fraud Authority, and, if they start new employment, they must notify the Minister, including a sta…”

“Clause 42 provides that when an employer receives a deduction from earnings order, they may also deduct an amount from the liable person’s earnings to cover reasonable administrative costs incurred in complying with the order. As with the mirror provision for banks, we need greater clarity on what will be considered re…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn Clause 41 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 42 The employer’s administrative costs Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”