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Written question asked by Gregory Stafford (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 June 2026. It was answered by Blair McDougall (Labour) on Friday, 26 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Insolvency: Domestic Abuse

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the safeguards in the Insolvency Rules 2016 against the misuse of insolvency proceedings as an instrument of economic abuse or coercive control against a victim of domestic abuse.

Answer

Insolvency proceedings are a regulated process designed to protect both debtors and creditors.

An individual can only be declared bankrupt by a court order following the presentation of a bankruptcy petition. The process is overseen by the court through the appointment of an Official Receiver or an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) acting as trustee.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) are supervised by licensed IPs, while applications for Debt Relief Orders (DROs) can only be submitted through an authorised debt adviser.

A review of the Insolvency Rules is currently underway, and we will be gathering stakeholder views across a range of areas.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
11367
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Domestic abuse Insolvency Insolvency Service
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk