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The Insolvency Act 1986 (Amendment) Order 2015

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The Insolvency Act 1986 (Amendment) Order 2015 Title: Changing to eligibility for Debt Relief Order and to the level of a creditor petition bankruptcy Impact Assessment (IA) Date: 01/12/14 IA No: BISINSS016 Stage: Final Lead department or agency: Source of intervention: Domestic BIS Other departments or agencies: Type of measure: Secondary legislation Insolvency Service Contact for enquiries: David Miller 0207 637 6445 Summary: Intervention and Options RPC Opinion: GREEN Cost of Preferred (or more likely) Option Total Net Present Business Net Net cost to business per In scope of One-In, Measure qualifies as Value Present Value year (EANCB on 2009 prices) Two-Out? -£2.99m -£2.03m £1.05m Yes IN What is the problem under consideration? Why is government intervention necessary? This impact assessment describes the impact of two legislative changes: 1) Increasing the entry criteria for Debt Relief Orders 2) Increases to the bankruptcy creditor petition limit. Debt Relief Orders (DRO) were introduced in 2009 to help the most vulnerable debtor access debt relief. Since then changes in prices and wages means that intended targeted group of vulnerable debtors may need to change. Government intervention is the only mechanism that can update the entry criteria for a DRO. A creditor can initiate bankruptcy proceedings if they are owed £750, this limit was set in 1986 and needs to be changed to account for changes in the economy and debt recovery landscape. The current low level has led to bankruptcy proceeding being initiated in disproportionate circumstances. Government intervention is necessary to reduce this enforcement mechanism in cases that Parliament had not originally intended to be available. What are the policy objectives and the intended effects? The overall aim of this legislation is to provide the best mechanism for people to obtain debt relief. Following on from the introduction of DROs in 2009, a review of DROs was necessary to make sure that the regime is working correctly and if any changes need to be made to ensure it is achieving what it was originally set out to do. An increase in the creditor petition limit is necessary to ensure that the strongest of debt recovery tools is only used at appropriate times. This will ensure protection for the most vulnerable debtors and increase the overall efficiency of the insolvency regime in the UK. What policy options have been considered, including any alternatives to regulation? Please justify preferred option (further details in Evidence Base) Option 1: Do nothing: The most vulnerable debtors will not be able to access low cost debt relief and bankruptcy proceedings will be initiated for disproportionate debt levels Option 2 (preferred option): From 1 October 2015, change entry criteria for a DRO from £15,000 qualifying debts to £20,000, increase qualifying assets from £300 to £1,000. Increase the bankruptcy creditor petition limit from £750 to £5,000. The levels take into account the views of stakeholders expressed via the call for evidence and were chosen to increase access to low cost debt relief for vulnerable debtors without placing significant costs on creditors and to bring bankruptcy petitions more in line with other forms of debt recovery. Will the policy be reviewed? It will be reviewed. If applicable, set review date: 10/2020 Does implementation go beyond minimum EU requirements? N/A 1 Are any of these organisations in scope? If Micros not Micro < 20 Small Medium Large exempted set out reason in Evidence Base. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes What is the CO 2 equivalent change in greenhouse gas emissions? Traded: Non-traded: (Million tonnes CO 2 equivalent) N/A n/a n/a I have read the Impact Assessment and I am satisfied that, given the available evidence, it represents a reasonable view of the likely costs, benefits and impact of the leading options. Signed by the responsible MINISTER Jo Swinson Date: 14 Jan 2015 2 Summary: Analysis & Evidence Policy Option 1 Description: Changes to the entry parameters of Debt Relief Orders and increase bankruptcy creditor petition deposit FULL ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT Price Base PV Base Time Period Net Benefit (Present Value (PV)) (£m) Year 2014 Year 2015 Years 10 Low : -5.02 High: -1.04 Best Estimate: -2.99 COSTS (£m) Total Transition Average Annual Total Cost (Constant Price) Years (excl. Transition) (Constant Price) (Present Value) Low 0.0 1.2 10.2 High 0.0 1 1.7 14.2 Best Estimate 0.0 1.4 11.9 Description and scale of key monetised costs by ‘main affected groups’ Changes to DRO eligibility - There is a cost to competent authorities from administrating the additional demand for DROs of around £1.2m per year. They will also incur one off familiarisation and training costs of around £0.03m. Creditors will lose out on a small amount of dividend payment estimated to be less than £ 0.01m per year Increase in the Creditor Petition limit – It has been estimated that the reduced ability of creditors to initiate bankruptcy proceedings may cost creditors around £0.25m per year. Other key non-monetised costs by ‘main affected groups’ There are no non-monetised costs of this policy. BENEFITS (£m) Total Transition Average Annual Total Benefit (Constant Price) Years (excl. Transition) (Constant Price) (Present Value) Low 0.0 1.1 9.2 High 0.0 1.1 9.2 Best Estimate 0.0 1.1 9.2 Description and scale of key monetised benefits by ‘main affected groups’ Debtors following a DRO route instead of a bankruptcy route will save between £0.57 and £1.14m in reduced costs. A benefit to the insolvency service, which would be passed on to creditors in reduced fees, of around £0.5m from reduced staffing costs. Other key non-monetised benefits by ‘main affected groups’ Improving access to debt relief orders will help vulnerable debtors gain access to debt relief. An annual benefit to debtors from being able to access debt relief orders of around £60m. Effective debt relief can provide a number of non monetised benefits including better relationships with family and friends, improvements in mental health and better employment prospects. Creditors may no longer incur the cost of debt recovery for debts where the recovery levels will likely exceed the cost of recovery. Key assumptions/sensitivities/risks Discount rate (%) 3.5 There is a risk that the forecasted changes in bankruptcy and debt relief orders may prove to be significantly different from reality leading to potentially larger costs to creditors and competent authorities than anticipated. There is also a small risk that providing greater access to inexpensive debt relief may lead to more reckless borrowing by individuals. BUSINESS ASSESSMENT (Option 1) Direct impact on business (Equivalent Annual) £m: In scope of OITO? Measure qualifies as Costs: 1.1 Benefits: 0.0 Net: -1.1 Yes IN 3 Background and problem under consideration 1. The overall aim of the changes in this legislation is to protect the most vulnerable consumers with debt problems. To achieve this objective it is proposed to change two areas in insolvency proceedings: debt relief orders and bankruptcy creditor petition limits. 2. Generally, if a person has debt problems there are various options to help them make arrangements with their creditors: • the debtor can contact his/her creditors and negotiate an agreement to repay all or some of the debts owed; • a debtor can apply to a lender for a loan to reorganise or clear his/her debts; • a debtor can go to a debt management company who will negotiate with his/her creditors and manage his/her payments to them. The arrangement the company negotiates for the debtor with his/her creditors is called a debt management plan (DMP); • a debtor can ask the court to make an administration order (County Court Administration order), under which the debtor must make weekly, monthly or quarterly payments from his/her income to the court, which shares them among his/her creditors, in proportion to the amounts he/she owes them; • a debtor can go to an insolvency practitioner who will prepare, negotiate and administer an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) for him/her to repay his/her creditors; and two more options which were recognised to need a change, • the debtor can enter a Debt Relief Order; • the debtor can become Bankrupt. 3. Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - assist a lot of the neediest people with their over- indebtedness but there is a need to review the eligibility for a DRO because of changes in prices and income. 4. Bankruptcy - a creditor may petition a court to make a debtor bankrupt if they owe the creditor in excess of £750. This limit was set in 1986 and due to the effect of inflation and income changes this has given creditors an enforcement option over low levels of debts, which Parliament had not originally intended them to have. 5. This IA will describe the impact of changes to both Debt Relief Orders and the Bankruptcy Creditor Petition limit. Debt Relief Orders 6. Debt Relief Orders were introduced in April 2009 and were aimed at providing much needed debt relief to a specific group of individuals in financial difficulty, i.e. those with a low level of liabilities (£15,000), no assets over and above a nominal amount (£300) and no surplus income with which to pay creditors (£50), and for whom bankruptcy is a disproportionate remedy. The process and structure of going through a DRO was made as simple as possible to ensure the cost of entry, which has been set to cover costs, would not exclude debtors. The entry fee is £90. It was also designed to support the financial rehabilitation of debtors as its low cost provided debtors with an incentive to address their debt issues earlier.
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