FOI release

FOI21/22-176 - Information about appointment of Official Receiver

Updated 14 July 2022

Our ref: FOI21/22-176

Date: 06 April 2022

Dear

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your email of 15 March in which you requested from the Insolvency Service:

1) Are you prohibited from disclosing the letter of appointment?

2) Please state which provisions or/and sections of the Insolvency Act 1986 gives the power to the Secretary of State to appoint?

3) Please state the law and section that gives the secretary of state the authority to delegate his duty to appoint?

• And to whom and which employer that duty is delegated to?
• And which circumstances?
• And who is accountable to?
• What document are in place in providing proof that such delegation has taken place?

4) Does a man/woman have to endorse, signed and confirm the veracity of such BANKRUPTCY order?

5) Please provide the details of who to write to in securing a verified copy [under the penalty of perjury] of the BANKRUPTCY

6) Since a wet ink signature is not required please state how a Receiver verifies the veracity of a BANKRUPTCY?

7) Does Section 44 of the Company Act 2006 apply to receivers work?

8) If not why should some take seriously any evidence or fact which is no verified under the penalty of perjury?

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

I can confirm the agency holds the information that you have requested and I have provided answers to your questions below:

1) Are you prohibited from disclosing the letter of appointment?

A certificate of appointment of an Official Receiver (OR) to the office of official receiver may be disclosed. However, a certificate of appointment of an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) as trustee of a bankruptcy estate would only be disclosed with the consent of the IP and where the IP was appointed as trustee by the Secretary of State

2) Please state which provisions or/and sections of the Insolvency Act 1986 gives the power to the Secretary of State to appoint?

The Secretary of State has the power to appoint individuals to the office of official receiver under section 399 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The Secretary of State has the power to appoint, at the request of the official receiver, an insolvency practitioner to replace the official receiver as trustee of a bankrupt’s estate under section 296 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

3) Please state the law and section that gives the secretary of state the authority to delegate his duty to appoint?

• And to whom and which employer that duty is delegated to?
• And which circumstances?
• And who is accountable to?
• What document are in place in providing proof that such delegation has taken place?

The delegation to a civil servant relies upon the “Carltona doctrine”. This is a doctrine of the common law of the United Kingdom dealing with the relationship between government Ministers and their civil servants. This principle gained formal judicial acceptance in the case of Carltona Ltd v Commissioners of Works [1943] 2 All E.R. 560. No other record is held in this regard

4) Does a man/woman have to endorse, signed and confirm the veracity of such BANKRUPTCY order?

A bankruptcy order is either sealed by the court which made the order (where the petition for bankruptcy is made by a third party) or issued by the Adjudicator on the application of the individual themselves. The veracity of the order can be confirmed from the court file or bankruptcy file

5) Please provide the details of who to write to in securing a verified copy [under the penalty of perjury] of the BANKRUPTCY

A copy of a bankruptcy order is served on the individual. A creditor, or anyone entitled to inspect the court or bankruptcy file, can write to the Official Receiver and request a copy of the bankruptcy order.

6) Since a wet ink signature is not required please state how a Receiver verifies the veracity of a BANKRUPTCY?

The order is served on the official receiver by the court, the official receiver will confirm that the court seal has been applied. The Adjudicator provides the official receiver with an electronic notice of the order.

7) Does Section 44 of the Company Act 2006 apply to receivers work?

No, section 44 of the Companies Act 2006 refers to the execution of documents by a limited company.

8) If not why should some take seriously any evidence or fact which is no verified under the penalty of perjury?

This appears to be asking for an opinion, which we are not obliged to provide under Freedom of Information. FOI only applies to recorded information and the Insolvency Service is not obliged to create information to answer a request.

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 Commissioners 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.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Official receivers and the Adjudicator are Data Controllers in respect of personal data processed by the Insolvency Service. For the details about how personal data is processed by the agency, please see the full Insolvency Service Personal Information Charter here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service/about/personal-information-charter