Section 106 | Recovery of expenditure on benefit from person liable for maintenance

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, if income support or universal credit is claimed by or in respect of a person whom another person is liable to maintain or paid to or in respect of such a person, the Secretary of State may make an application against the liable person to the family court for an order under this section.^F1F2F3

(2)On the hearing of an application under this section the court shall have regard to all the circumstances and, in particular, to the income of the liable person, and may order him to pay such sum, weekly or otherwise, as it may consider appropriate, except that in a case falling within section 78(6)(c) above that sum shall not include any amount which is not attributable to income support or universal credit (whether paid before or after the making of the order).^F2F1

(3)In determining whether to order any payments to be made in respect of income support or universal credit for any period before the application was made, or the amount of any such payments, the court shall disregard any amount by which the liable person's income exceeds the income which was his during that period.^F1F4

(4)Any payments ordered to be made under this section shall be made—

(a)to the Secretary of State in so far as they are attributable to any income support or universal credit (whether paid before or after the making of the order);^F5

(b)to the person claiming income support or universal credit or (if different) the dependant; or^F5

(c)to such other person as appears to the court expedient in the interests of the dependant.

(5)Repealed^F6

(6)In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to the family court there shall be substituted references to the sheriff.^F7

(7)Repealed^F8