The Maintenance Orders (Backdating) Order 1993

Matrimonial Causes Act 1973(1)

3.  After section 31(10) of that Act (effective date of variation of certain orders for financial relief)(2) there shall be inserted—

“(11) Where—

(a)a periodical payments or secured periodical payments order in favour of more than one child (“the order”) is in force;

(b)the order requires payments specified in it to be made to or for the benefit of more than one child without apportioning those payments between them;

(c)a maintenance assessment (“the assessment”) is made with respect to one or more, but not all, of the children with respect to whom those payments are to be made; and

(d)an application is made, before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date on which the assessment was made, for the variation or discharge of the order, the court may, in exercise of its powers under this section to vary or discharge the order, direct that the variation or discharge shall take effect from the date on which the assessment took effect or any later date.

(12) Where—

(a)an order (“the child order”) of a kind prescribed for the purposes of section 10(1) of the Child Support Act 1991 is affected by a maintenance assessment;

(b)on the date on which the child order became so affected there was in force a periodical payments or secured periodical payments order (“the spousal order”) in favour of a party to a marriage having the care of the child in whose favour the child order was made; and

(c)an application is made, before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date on which the maintenance assessment was made, for the spousal order to be varied or discharged,

the court may, in exercise of its powers under this section to vary or discharge the spousal order, direct that the variation or discharge shall take effect from the date on which the child order became so affected or any later date.

(13) For the purposes of subsection (12) above, an order is affected if it ceases to have effect or is modified by or under section 10 of the Child Support Act 1991.

(14) Subsections (11) and (12) above are without prejudice to any other power of the court to direct that the variation of discharge of an order under this section shall take effect from a date earlier than that on which the order for variation or discharge was made.”