- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed by the Accountant in Bankruptcy and how this compares with the staffing in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes details of staff numbers and costs annually in their annual report which is available on their website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it costs the Accountant in Bankruptcy to administer the low income, low assets (LILA) scheme.
Answer
The low income, low asset (LILA) route into bankruptcy came into force on 1 April 2008, the same date from which debtor applications for bankruptcy were made directly to the Accountant in Bankruptcy rather than to the courts as previously.
LILA is an additional route into the bankruptcy process, not a separate scheme in itself, and the Accountant in Bankruptcy does not split the administration costs of the debtor application process.
The total administrative costs of the team dealing with debtor applications are estimated at £928,700 per annum.
This figure does not include fees payable to third parties associated with debtor applications which are beyond the Accountant in Bankruptcy''s direct control; principally the costs of advertising the award in the Edinburgh Gazette and registering the award with the Registers of Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it anticipated would apply for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA).
Answer
Based on the findings of a working group on debt relief and Citizen''s Advice Scotland figures, it was estimated that between 4,500 and 6,500 debtors who were stuck in the debt cycle and urgently requiring debt relief would apply for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA) route.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the Debt Action Forum are.
Answer
The Debt Action Forum (DAF) was a group of stakeholders and academics invited by Scottish ministers to consider measures that might create a coherent debt package to respond to the current financial climate. Minutes of the DAF meetings are available on the Accountant in Bankruptcy website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
The members are:
Fergus Ewing, MSP | Minister for Community Safety (Chair) |
Gillian Thompson | Accountant in Bankruptcy |
George Way | Law Society of Scotland |
Ann Condick | The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
Susan McPhee | Citizens Advice Scotland |
Yvonne Gallacher | Money Advice Scotland |
Lindsay Montgomery | Scottish Legal Aid Board |
Anne Feeney | Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities |
Adrian Stalker | QC |
George Gretton | The Scottish Law Commission |
Frank Johnstone | Finance and Leasing Association |
Karen Titulaer | British Bankers Association / Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whom it consulted on the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SS1 2009/234).
Answer
There was no formal consultation on the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SS1 2009/234). The Accountant in Bankruptcy did however run a series of workshops with stakeholders and met regularly with the money advice sector at various stages during the regulation making process.
Stakeholders included representatives from:
HM Revenue and Customs |
Eversheds |
Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation |
Lloyds TSB |
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
Money Advice Scotland |
Citizens Advice Scotland |
Glasgow City Council |
South Lanarkshire Council |
North Lanarkshire Council |
Highland Council |
Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice |
Argyll and Bute Council |
Fife Council |
North Ayrshire Council |
Accountant in Bankruptcy |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have applied for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA).
Answer
The Accountant in Bankruptcy maintains the Register of Insolvencies in Scotland and publishes statistics on personal insolvencies in Scotland, quarterly on their website at
www.aib.gov.uk and by financial year in their annual report, which is also available on their website.
The Accountant in Bankruptcy considers debtor applications and assesses eligibility for bankruptcy. Debtor applications for bankruptcy are all considered via the same application process and applications are not specifically considered as low income, low assets applications.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual (a) staffing and (b) operational costs are of the office of the Accountant in Bankruptcy.
Answer
The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes their staffing and operational costs annually in their annual report which is available on their website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans for trust deeds to be administered by the Accountant in Bankruptcy and, if so, how much this will cost.
Answer
The trust deed process was discussed as part of the work of the Debt Action Forum (DAF). There has not been any policy decision to change trust deeds at this time. Work is ongoing with stakeholders to consider the whether changes are required to trust deeds.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average debts are for people who have applied for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA).
Answer
A review of the low income, low asset (LILA) route into bankruptcy, published in October 2008, is available on the Accountant in Bankruptcy website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
Based on a sample of 2,011 debtors who became bankrupt between 1 April 2008 and 31 July 2008, the report found that the average LILA debtor has around £17,288 of debt and the majority of debtors owe between £5,000 and £19,999.
A further review of the LILA route into bankruptcy is currently underway and is due to report findings by August 2009.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that equality impact assessments should be applied to singe outcome agreements.
Answer
It is not the Scottish Government''s role to determine on whether an authority has appropriately complied with its public sector equality duties. However, as the Scottish Government is engaged with community planning partnerships (CPPs) in the development of single outcome agreements (SOAs), it recognises its responsibility to work with partners to ensure that equality is properly considered and reflected.
To support this, in March 2009 the Scottish Government and COSLA issued advice on Equality and Single Outcome Agreements “ Getting to Best Practice. This advice is intended to help community planning partners to consider how they may move beyond fulfilling their individual equalities obligations and toward jointly incorporating and reflecting equality in the ongoing development of SOAs.