A separate report  is requested

The interim meeting started by discussing the exercise on savings in government expenditure. Creditors must pay for their own trustees if they are to get the procedure started. The Chairman then discussed the government’s plans to cut down the size of the Civil Service, and that the committee should discuss its own proposals regarding the future shape of the bankruptcy legislation. The committee was asked to produce a separate report setting out the general principles that the committee had concluded should apply to individuals.

What should go in the separate report?

The committee agreed on a number of points: that there has been an increase in non-trading debtors, the increase of bankruptcy proceedings on small businesses was caused by VAT and Revenue, and that  the rigorous system was being applied to far more cases than it should. The committee then suggests that full bankruptcy should be preserved for the bad cases, and for those that had defaulted in some less rigorous form of administration.

The Chairman emphasised that the separate letter should not be seen as supporting the government’s expenditure cuts. Rather, it should be seen as a progress report.

Statement of indifference- Accountants

The Chairman highlighted that the ban on receivers becoming a joint liquidator was already in operation, despite it being contrary to public policy.

Meeting33 - 19th September 1979