Tribunals bill to speed up dispute hearings
27 June 2007
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement (TCE) Bill, which brings most tribunals together in a single organisation, will speed up justice and make the process easier for the public to understand, Justice Minister Vera Baird QC MP said today.
Vera Baird said:
I am pleased the TCE Bill is nearing completion. Bringing most tribunals together and harmonising their procedures will help people to find their way around the system and get solutions to their issues more quickly and efficiently. We will set up a network of Appeal hearing centres in major centres to promote ready access to more justice services.
The Bill also powerfully strengthens the regulation of enforcement agents. In future, nobody will be able to act as a bailiff unless they are personally certificated to do so by a county court judge. They will each have to pass a training programme, deposit a bond, which can be forfeited for misconduct, and demonstrate to the judge that they are, in every way, fit and proper to do this important and sensitive job.
There will be new court procedures to call to account abuses of power and misconduct and the fee structure will be reformed and simplified to discourage abuses aimed at making money out of debtors. Enforcement officers will be taught to manage vulnerable people in a proper way.
Ms Baird said:
We are determined to get rid of the cowboy enforcement agents, who are unregulated and do not work to acceptable standards and to do that as soon as the Bill becomes law. In due course, we want to move licensing and regulation into the hands of the Security Industries Association (SIA) and we want to ensure that their longer-term regime will be equally tough. I have no doubt that local county courts will exercise their new responsibilities with great rigour.
There has been much talk of enabling enforcement agents to use reasonable force to gain entry into a home to collect a debt. That provision will not be enacted until the full SIA licensing system comes into force and even then it will only be available as an absolute last resort if a county court judge agrees to it after a detailed inquiry.
Notes to editors
1. Information on people's rights and responsibilities when bailiffs and other enforcement agents call on them is available from the DirectGov website.
2. Any debtor or third party can lodge a written complaint to the county court that granted the enforcement agent his/her certificate. A judge determines whether the complaint has merit and if the complaint is upheld, the enforcement agent will be dealt with appropriately.
3. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill was published in draft on 25 July 2006.
4. The Government consulted on longer-term options for the regulation of enforcement agents in a consultation paper issued on 30 January 2007 the results of the consultation will be published in due course: Regulation of enforcement agents consultation paper.
5. Other measures in the Bill include:
- Tribunals and Inquiries
Creates a new, simplified legal framework for tribunals and brings tribunal judges and members together under a Senior President. - Judicial Appointments
New minimum eligibility requirements mean a broader range of lawyers can apply to become a judge such as patent agents, trademark attorneys and legal executives. - Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods
Brings together, in one place, the laws regarding seizure and sale of goods. Enforcement agent law is currently a mix of statute law, secondary legislation, case law, guidance and codes of practice. - Enforcement of Judgements and Orders
Contains measures to help creditors better enforce civil judgements and recover outstanding debt from those who can afford to pay but won't. - Debt Management and Relief
Contains a package of targeted measures that improve and extend the current range of solutions available to assist debtors with relatively low levels of income and debts. The measures take more account of individual circumstances and strike an appropriate balance between the rights of the creditor to recover a debt and the needs of debtors to be supported in managing their often complex financial situations. They are targeted, in particular, at the socially excluded who are disproportionately affected by debt and are generally least able to deal with a range of competing creditor demands. - Protection of Cultural Property on Temporary Loan Exhibition
Provides immunity from any form of seizure ordered in civil or criminal proceedings, and from any seizure by law enforcement authorities for cultural objects lent for temporary exhibitions to the public at approved museums and galleries within the United Kingdom.
6. For more information, please contact Kathryn Montague, Ministry of Justice press office, on 020 7210 1397.
Ends
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