Schedule 12
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [Lords]
4:00 pm
Vera Baird (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Redcar, Labour)
I, too, welcome you back to the Chair, Mr. Bercow. I echo everything that was said about your charm.
Amendment No. 90, tabled by the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk, is not necessary. Paragraph 28(1), to which I have already referred, stipulates that an enforcement agent must provide a notice for the debtor on entering the premises. We have covered that territory. Regulations will be made under paragraph 28(2) to determine the form and content of the notice, and further details of its contents are contained in paragraph 160 of the statement on delegated powers. We had a gallop around that course this morning. The notice will set out details of the debt, how it can be paid, any charges and any avenues of appeal or complaint, all of which are essential.
I understand the concerns behind amendment No. 91 about not causing undue hardship, but those, too, are covered adequately, and we have already considered them. We will regulate to exempt goods from seizure when they are necessary for a debtor’s basic domestic needs. We have been through the list as it is currently composed, and I have said that I am happy to hear representations about anything that should be added to it for the sake of completeness and comprehensiveness. Anything that is necessary for the basic domestic needs of the debtor can be added to the list, as can those things that are necessary to enable him to carry on his business, his work or his vocation.
Paragraph 12 of schedule 12 limits the enforcement agent to take control of goods to the value only of the outstanding debt and any future costs. One expects that such a provision will not result in the cleaning out of everything except the exempt goods, except on rare occasions. I believe that the Bill finds an appropriate balance between creditors and debtors and will not cause undue hardship to the debtor or his family, or impair his ability to carry on his business or education.
Amendment Nos. 92 to 94 seek to provide that a controlled goods agreement—the new name for the walking possession arrangement that we have discussed in those terms—can be signed by a person other than the debtor. It is the wish of Her Majesty’s Opposition that that should be so if a competent person who is over 18 lives on the premises or works on them where the premises are business premises, as long as he fully understands the consequences of the procedure. As my noble Friend Baroness Ashton has said many times in the other place, the Bill does not preclude the possibility of another person signing for a controlled goods agreement. In addition, paragraph 13(3) of the schedule provides for regulations to make further provision about taking control of goods by way of a controlled goods agreement. I am happy to confirm that the regulations will specify that a controlled goods agreement may be signed by a person other than the debtor, but such regulations would also need to clarify that that person would require the debtor’s consent.
Lest anyone be troubled, I shall set out how we hope the procedure will work. Where a person on the premises volunteers to sign the agreement saying that they have the authority to do so, the enforcement agent will have to ascertain their relationship to the debtor and, if satisfied, may accept the statement at face value and allow the person to sign. It is in the debtor’s interest to allow that to happen, as the alternative might be that the goods are removed.
Where no one on the premises is willing to claim the authority to sign, the enforcement agent should try to contact the debtor by telephone to explain the situation and to ask whether the debtor can instruct someone who is present to sign the agreement or come over to sign it in person. Where it is not possible to authorise someone who is present or no one is willing to sign the agreement, the enforcement agent would be within his rights to take control of the goods immediately by securing them on the premises or by removing them for storage and sale.
A person who could sign in those circumstances should not be someone under the age of 18 or someone who is incapable of understanding the serious nature and consequences of what they are signing. All of that is intended to be put into regulation, and given that, I hope that hon. Members will not press their amendments to a Division.