Recovery and Insolvency Services

The ongoing lack of trust in Scottish Insolvency

22/01/2014 by Webmaster

Despite protestations that the insolvency profession and Accountant in Bankruptcy must find better ways of working together, the lack of trust continues and what little there is has been further undermined by Fergus Ewing's last gasp amendments to the BADAS Bill.

The Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill continues its Stage 2 progress through the Scottish Parliament. Amendments are still being made, and this one has drawn some comment:

Fergus Ewing

57 After section 48, insert—

<Debt arrangement schemes: extension to non-natural persons and fees

(1) The Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1 (debt arrangement scheme), for “individuals” substitute “persons”.

(3) In section 7(2) (debt payment programmes: power to make further provision), after paragraph (ua) insert—

“(ub) the remuneration of payments distributors and money advisers,”.

 

There has been no discussion of this. The intention appears that there should be no discussion of this – at least not with the insolvency profession. And the inevitable conclusion is that the minister is seeking to both pave the way for the Accountant in Bankruptcy to deal with corporate cases and to regulate the remuneration of those brave souls who would seek to carry on working in this area.

I am not sure today’s NHS should be the model on which Scotland’s financial health service is built, but the creation of an Official Receiver in Scotland would kill off the corporate insolvency businesses of many practitioners who already struggle with the tilted personal insolvency playing field this Scottish government has chosen to create.

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