The IS consultation on reforming debtor petition bankruptcy and early discharge from bankruptcy.
The IPC’s response on 8 February 2010 was in favour of the abolition of early discharge and, in principle, the proposals to remove the requirement for debtors’ petitions to be approved by the courts and to allow such petitions to be made online subject to certain conditions about the Decision Maker.
The JIC’s consultation on the first revision of SIP 2
The IPC broadly agreed with the revised SIP, although it considered that more regard should be paid to the public interest.
The JIC’s consultation on its draft revisions of SIPs 7 and 9
The IPC responded to both these consultations. It basically approved of SIP 7 although had some suggestionson improving its Appendix A. On SIP 9, the IPC again strongly considered that revised SIPs needed to be drafted also with a view to outside stakeholders and the general public. The IPC recommended a new section be added explaining to what kind of insolvency the SIP applies and making it clear that it includes voluntary arrangements. The table in Appendix A was also not particularly helpful to creditors and may also not do justice to the IPs.
The IS consultation/call for evidence on improving the transparency of, and confidence in, pre-packaged sales in administration
The IPC responded in June to the questionnaire and favoured the following:
- that IPs should consider more carefully their degree of independence and objectivity to execute a pre-pack and that SIP 16 should be amended accordingly;
- that RPBs should monitor compliance with SIP 16 and the Code of Ethics;
- SIP 16 should not be given legislative force; exit routes from administration should not be restricted;
- there should not be a blanket requirement for different IPs to undertake pre-and post-appointment work; and
- that court or creditor approval for pre-packs to connected persons should not be required on the grounds of both cost and practicality.
The IS proposals for a restructuring moratorium
The IPC was in favour of the proposed moratorium.
The IS consultation on insolvency statistics
The IPC Chairman was invited to participate as the IPC had long called for better statistics (see its previous Annual Report recommendations).