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Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [Lords]

There is a case for that, but it needs to be examined carefully in Committee. I do not doubt for a moment that there is much responsible bailiff practice. Indeed, my local council, Knowsley, has such a tight system for the bailiffs that it employs that it has not had a bailiff complaint for seven years. Features of that good practice include employing bailiffs only as a last resort after other preliminary procedures have been gone through. Its bailiffs are employed by contract from tender and have to be members of a relevant professional association such as the Enforcement Services Association or the Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies. The council’s bailiffs must also follow strict procedures. As I said in an earlier intervention, they have to take careful account of vulnerabilities such as advanced age; disability; recent bereavement; the welfare of young children; long-term, acute illness; and if someone lives in sheltered property. If there are such circumstances, the bailiffs must use discretion and seek the council’s guidance if necessary. If they do not, their contracts can be cancelled. The council uses mystery shoppers who are presented as debtors and report on the conduct of the bailiffs who visit them. Also—I shall finish on this point, although I could say more—bailiffs are required to make notes about every visit and record them on computer. Those computer records are then accessed and monitored by the council. Further procedures, with which I shall not burden the House, show that it is possible to control the behaviour of bailiffs.