Compensation for Maladministration
When is a Compensation Payment considered?Many people who have suffered actual financial loss contact Durham Legal Services requesting our help with the recovery of monies due from the CSA. In order to assist you, this section looks at instances of maladministration which could mean a compensation payment would be considered.
Should you require any additional information on compensation and the amount you would be entitled to, please feel free to purchase an advice voucher and speak to one of our compensation specialists.
The Child Support Agency has identified a number of categories of cases where special payments may be considered and a few examples are listed below, although this list is not exhaustive. Please note that we have used a standard three week period whereas in reality monies recovered would cover the actual periods where you have been subject to maladministration.
- Unreasonable delay in the issue of a Maintenance Application Form (MAF) to the Parent With Care (PWC)
- Unreasonable delay in the issue of a Maintenance Enquiry Form (MEF) to the Non-Resident Parent (NRP)
- Inappropriate issue of an MEF to a person wrongly identified as the non-resident parent
- Delay in assessing child support maintenance
- Advance payments of child support maintenance to the parent with care
- Court order incorrectly superseded where the Agency has no jurisdiction
- Court order cases - delay in assessment of liability resulting in loss of child support maintenance
- Unreasonable delay or error in enforcement action
- Delay in reviewing maintenance liability leading to an overpayment of maintenance by the NRP
- Defective or invalid Interim Maintenance Assessments (IMAs) made before 16 February 1995 (referred to as IMA gap cases)
Note: Compensation, in the form of interest, is payable on amounts paid
under these procedures.
General matters concerning redress in Child Support Agency cases
Compensation for loss of use of child support maintenance
Compensation for the loss of use of child support maintenance can be considered on top of certain ex gratia payments made to provide redress. The compensation takes the form of interest. Examples of situations where interest may be added are:
- delay in the issue of MAF/MEF
- delay in a review leading to overpayment of maintenance by NRP
- delay leading to lump sum payment of advance maintenance.
Interest is not considered in cases where a delay in review has caused an overpayment of child support maintenance by the NRP which is recouped by payments under regulation 10 of the Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Regulations 1992, or a reduction in outstanding arrears. Parliament envisaged such situations when passing legislation and made no provision for the NRP or PWC to pay interest on the sums overpaid or underpaid.
Unlike benefit cases, in all Child Support Agency cases of compensation in the form of interest, the NRP/PWC has already had to wait a period of time before the special payment award begins. In view of this waiting period, interest is calculated from the period that the special payment award covers up to the time that the special payment is made.
Payment patterns
Financial redress for the loss of opportunity to receive maintenance is normally considered where a payment pattern has been established. In exceptional cases, where there is evidence that, on the balance of probabilities, maintenance would have been forthcoming had the Agency acted in a timely manner, a special payment can be considered without the need to wait for the establishment of a payment pattern.
