Clause 88
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [Lords]
1:00 pm
Vera Baird (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Redcar, Labour)
The essential precondition for a charging order is a judgmentdebt. Before going to court, the parties may reach a compromise. If the hon. Gentleman lends me £10,000 and I say that I will never be able to pay it back, but then say that I will repay £5,000 in six months, we can make an agreement on that basis. I get half my debt remitted and the hon. Gentleman gets £5,000 when he might have had nothing. If we agree to such a contract, there will be no debt left. If I subsequently come into further assets, there will be no debt on which to charge those assets. I hope that that clarifies the matter.
I should make it clear, if I did not do so earlier, that there is no intention that a charging order should be converted to an order for sale while the debtor is still paying their instalment order. The measure offers extra protection, but it is not intended to be used in thatway. With that, I hope that the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk will withdraw the amendment.