FOI release

FOI22/23-014 - The number of debtors against which an eligibility review has been raised

Published 18 January 2023

Our ref: FOI22/23-014

Date: 8 June 2022

1. Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request

Thank you for your email of 9 May in which you requested the following information from the Insolvency Service, further to our correspondence re. FOI21/22 - 186:

“Please could you send me the information that you reference you do have in answer to Q3 - i.e. the number of debtors against which an eligibility review has been raised, the number of debts against which an eligibility review has been raised and the outcomes of these reviews?”

Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

We can confirm the Insolvency Service (INSS) holds the information requested. Between 4th May 2021 (the introduction of the Breathing Space Scheme) and 6th June 2022 there have been:

• 389 unique debtors with eligibility reviews raised against them, and
• 3,088 unique registered debts with eligibility reviews raised against them.

Table 1 provides the outcomes of these reviews as of 6th June 2022.

Table 1: Outcomes of debtor and debt eligibility reviews conducted between 4th May 2021 and 6th June 2022

	#Outcomes of Debtors Reviews	Outcomes of Debt Reviews
Total	389	3,088
Cancelled	14	43
Eligible After Adviser Review	320	1,716
Not Eligible After Adviser Review	20	1,062
Review Requested	42	901

Source: Breathing Space Register

Note that the sum of outcomes in each column in Table 1 is greater than the total. It is anticipated that this is due to some debtors and debts having more than one eligibility review raised against them. However, in adherence with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), analysts in the Insolvency Service do not have access to individual level data to check this assumption. Data can only be compiled in anonymised aggregate format.

Definitions and guidance to aid interpretation of Table 1:

Eligibility reviews included in this response are those requested by creditors. Creditors can request the debt adviser managing an individual’s breathing space to review the debtor’s eligibility within 20 days of notification if they consider that:

• the breathing space unfairly prejudices their interest
• the debtor does not meet at least one of the eligibility criteria for a breathing space
• any of the debts included in the breathing space do not qualify
• the debtor has enough funds to repay their debts

Table 1 excludes mandatory mid-point standard breathing space reviews and outcomes, where the debt advisor checks whether the debtor is complying with the standard breathing space requirements, and whether the standard breathing space should continue for the full 60 days. mid-point reviews are not conducted for debtors in a mental health crisis breathing space.

Review Outcomes:

• Cancelled: Where a debtor does not pay an ongoing liability, the debt adviser might decide to cancel the standard breathing space for some or all debts. Cancelled debts are those that coincided with the timing of creditor request(s) for a review.

All debts cancelled following a creditor request for review are recorded as such; debtor review outcomes are only recorded as cancelled were all their debts are cancelled. If at least one debt remains eligible for breathing space, the debtor (and remaining debt(s)) will be recorded in Table 1 as still ‘eligible after adviser review’.

• Eligible after adviser review: The debt owed to the creditor requesting the review remains eligible for the debtor to be in a breathing space, as arranged.

• Not eligible after adviser review – The debt owed to the creditor requesting the review does not remain eligible for breathing space and the creditor will be able to restart enforcement action. If all debts assigned to one debtor are deemed no longer eligible following review, the debtor’s eligibility for breathing space will also be removed. If at least one debt remains eligible for breathing space the debtor will be recorded in Table 1 as still ‘eligible after adviser review’.

• Review Requested – The eligibility review has been requested but not yet conducted.

Full details on the review process for debt advisers and creditors can be found online:

Guidance for creditors: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance-for-creditors

Guidance for debt advisers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance/debt-respite-scheme-breathing-space-guidance-for-money-advisers#midway-review

Complaints

If you are not satisfied with the response we have provided you and would like us to reconsider our decision by way of an internal review (IR), please contact our Information Rights Team at foi@insolvency.gov.uk or by post at:

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

3rd Floor

Cannon House

18 Priory Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6FD

United Kingdom

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you wish for them to investigate any complaint you may have regarding our handling of your request. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect an IR to have been completed in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service