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We
have updated and strengthened our guidance for the five insolvency
regulators
(the regulated professional bodies or RPBs) on how they should monitor volume
providers. . The changes to the
guidance,
first introduced in 2007, take account of developments in the market place and
our work observing a number of RPB monitoring visits and related outcomes. The
refreshed guidance has been developed jointly by the Insolvency Service and a
range of stakeholders, including key creditors groups and the RPBs. The updated
guidance has been strengthened throughout and key changes include:
- a definition of a volume provider
- explaining how we think RPBs should
carry out their monitoring work both in terms of frequency and process
- a focus on safeguarding client monies
- sampling a wider range of cases
- monitoring the fairness and cost of
the use of other products and services
- monitoring debt advice
- a greater acknowledgment of the
different business model adopted by large IVA providers
As
part of our ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the regulatory regime
against the regulatory objectives
introduced in October 2015, we will review how the RPBs implement this guidance.
The publication of strengthened guidance is part of our wider project to assess
the effectiveness of RPB monitoring work, which will be the subject of further
reports to be published in the future.
The
government included the introduction of a breathing space scheme for people with
personal problem debt in its election manifesto. HM Treasury has now launched a
Call for
Evidence which invites views on the best design for a scheme to give people in
debt up to six weeks to take action, without accruing any further interest,
charges, or being subject to any enforcement action. This period would allow
individuals to seek financial advice about how to manage and relieve their debt
burden. The government has also announced the intention to bring forward
statutory debt management plans to formalise existing plans drawn up by debt
advisers to help individuals repay their debts. The Call for Evidence closes on
16 January 2018.
 Work
to improve communications with creditors and make distributions more efficient
saw our Long Term Asset & Distribution Team (LTADT) shortlisted for the
Turnaround, Restructuring and Insolvency Award creditor engagement award. The
team deals with the realisation of
long term assets such as house sales and distributes realised funds to
creditors. In 2016/17 it paid out a total of £46 million to creditors on
9,855 cases, representing in excess of 54,000 payments – and has distributed
£170 million since LTADT was formed in 2013. Up to 75% of creditor claims come
from three large collection agents and HM Revenue & Customs. LTADT have
introduced a weekly electronic schedule of cases where dividends have been declared.
Dividend notices are still published in the London Gazette but the new process
has sped up the claims process and made it more efficient. The Insolvency
Service has a Ministerial target to maximise returns to creditors and has set a
performance
measure to increase the value of distributions to creditors to £55 million or
greater in the current year (up from £46 million in 2016/17).
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The
Insolvency Service Board has welcomed three new non-executive directors to our
Board:
- Richard Oirschot is an experienced board
director with a background in corporate recovery. He is a member of the
Institute for Turnaround and is a licenced insolvency practitioner.
- Mary Chapman has held many private,
non-profit and public sector governance positions including as chief executive
of the Chartered Management Institute, director of the Royal Mint and is
currently a Trustee of the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.
- William Trower QC has a financial and
commercial practice which includes insolvency and corporate restructuring. He
sits as a Deputy High Court Judge (Chancery Division) and was a member of the
Insolvency Rules Committee between 2000 and 2011.
Board
members are appointed initially for three year terms. The new non-executive directors
replace Dame Elizabeth Neville, Tracey Bleakley and David Ereira who have now
completed their service on the Board.
 We have
implemented changes to our complaints
process following a comprehensive review carried out over the
past year. The aim of the review was to identify how we can resolve complaints
at the earliest opportunity, improve performance and the quality of responses,
and make the complaints process work as well as it can for our customers and
the staff administering it, by making it simpler and easier to access. Changes include:
- the adoption of a clear and considered complaint
approach with a simplified route of access
- centralised oversight of the complaints process
- a consistent approach with the level at which
complaints are handled across the agency
- a revision of internal and external communications
to simplify and increase awareness of our complaints policies, standards
and targets
- agency wide guidance and training to improve the
quality of complaint handling with a view to making our processes more
efficient
- the introduction of time limits for the submission
and escalation of complaints
Initial
feedback on the new process has been positive and we are using performance data
to provide insight and direction for ways in which we further improve the
service we offer.
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