As the country goes to the polls today, here are the 4 key priorities that R3 would like to see from the new government:
1. Time to ‘bed down’ recent changes – these include new rules on Debt Relief Orders and bankruptcy, and insolvency practitioners’ fees, and termination clauses. We need time to see how these changes will work in practice.
2. Reforms to personal insolvency – the UK’s insolvency regime is highly regarded but reforms to the personal landscape in the last decade have been piecemeal. R3 believes it is time for a comprehensive review of the England & Wales personal insolvency regime.
3. Continued use of ‘no win, no fee’ funding arrangements – a move to end the use of these funding arrangements has been put on hold until after the election following pressure from MPs. Insolvency practitioners return £160m to creditors each year by using ‘no win no fee’ arrangements to pursue court action against directors of failed businesses.
4. Return of criminal bankruptcy – this would extend the opportunities insolvency practitioners have to use their powers to combat fraud, particularly given the degree of government spending and resource cuts in recent years, and help return money to victims.