Meeting our milestones
Chris Nichols, CEO, Enforcement Conduct Board
May was a busy month as we continue making significant progress with both our engagement work and the implementation of our business plan. Now our focus is turning towards the launch of our accreditation scheme.
Engagement
I attended the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation conference in Leeds to talk about our work and how local authority creditors can help us make the ECB a success.
I also spoke at the High Court Enforcement Officers Association AGM in Birmingham, which gave me the opportunity to thank them for their engagement so far with the ECB, especially their helpful response to our business plan consultation.
Having shadowed an enforcement agent to gain direct insight into their work, it was important for me to also engage with the debt advice sector to understand how they deliver their services on the frontline and hear their reflections on dealing with people experiencing debt enforcement action.
Stepchange
That’s why I’ve been on a visit to Stepchange’s call centre in Leeds to see first-hand their important work in supporting people in very challenging circumstances.
It was great to spend time with the debt advisers, listening in on calls and hearing their thoughts about the impact of enforcement activity on those on the receiving end.
A clear message from them was a real concern that enforcement powers can sometimes be misrepresented by enforcement agents. For example, threatening to return with locksmiths in circumstances where this would not be permitted. This is something that we will now look out for in our forthcoming evidence gathering, to understand how and when this happens, so that we can determine how to address it.
Linked to this, the advisers also felt that there is a need for more accessible information and greater awareness on what can and can’t happen during enforcement action. This is something that I’m keen to explore further in partnership with our stakeholders from debt charities and the enforcement profession.
Through all our work it will be important to understand the concerns and experiences of those experiencing enforcement action, which is why I’m looking forward to exploring these issues further with visits to National Debtline and Christians Against Poverty this month.
Milestones
Having consulted on and published our business plan, we have now developed an operational plan for the year, which gives more details about what we will deliver and when.
It sets out the milestones we expect to reach each quarter and we are committed to updating this regularly so that all our stakeholders can see the progress we are making and understand when we will be looking for their involvement.
Among the key projects will be our independent research looking at footage from a large sample of body worn video, which we will begin later this year and which we aim to publish in the first quarter of 2024.
We will also be working throughout the year to develop new standards and processes to take on complaints handling, with a target to launch both initiatives in summer 2024.
Our immediate priority, however, is to get our accreditation scheme up and running from July. As set out in our business plan we have developed five criteria for accreditation. In brief, they are:
- to treat the 2014 Ministry of Justice (MoJ) standards as binding rather than advisory and then comply with ECB standards and code of practice once implemented;
- in future, when we adjudicate on complaints, to accept our findings;
- to complete quarterly data returns;
- on request, to accept the audit and transparent disclosure of data to support the ECB’s work;
- payment of the ECB required levy in a timely fashion.
We are currently working on the necessary legal and procedural framework and will ensure relevant companies and organisations are updated about the actions they will need to take when we launch the scheme.
Growing team
Given everything we have to achieve, it is timely that our team is growing.
And I’m very pleased to announce that David Parkin, a deputy director at the MoJ who, until recently, held the ministry’s brief for enforcement policy, has joined us on a one-year secondment.
This investment in our senior level resource is a welcome and significant demonstration of the government’s commitment to the success of the ECB. I’m looking forward to working with David, who brings a wealth of relevant experience and sector knowledge.
Also joining us this month is our new Policy Manager, Alice Kelly, who brings experience of policy and oversight from within the civil service. She will be getting out and about to meet people once she has started.
Each of these steps help us deliver our mission of fair treatment for everyone experiencing enforcement action. I look forward to reporting on further progress towards our milestones.
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Until next time!