The year has got off to a fast start for the ECB with our involvement in an episode of BBC Radio 4’s news and current affairs programme, File on Four.
The “Bailiffs Behaving Badly” episode was broadcast last night, on Tuesday 23 January and is a look at public sector debt collection against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis. Back in December last year I was invited into the BBC’s New Broadcasting House for an interview to provide insight and information from the ECB perspective.
It had been a while since I was last at the BBC, and we saw this as a good opportunity to discuss this important issue and to hear what the journalists making the programme had learnt over the course of getting it to air. It was clear that they’d been busy getting to grips with the topic – their questions probed a number of important areas.
The final programme features around five minutes of my interview, which lasted over an hour in real time. It also features Russell Hamblin-Boone (CIVEA), Peter Tutton (Stepchange) and Peter Wilson (Deputy Leader of Chorley Council), as well as some members of the public who had experienced enforcement action and some current and former enforcement agents. You can listen to it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vm56.
You can also read the BBC website story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68054306
This interview gave me an opportunity to emphasise the importance of ensuring that all those who experience enforcement action are treated fairly. I was also able to explain the important role that fair enforcement plays in collecting public money that goes towards delivering the crucial public services that we all rely on.
I talked about the role that creditors can play in driving fair enforcement, by prioritising fairness along with effectiveness in their purchasing decisions and by committing to only working with ECB accredited providers, as the Welsh Local Government Association has already committed to on behalf of all local authorities in Wales.
Independent oversight was a key theme – the journalists were keen to explore what’s actually happening when people’s debts are referred for enforcement and I was able to explain our role in setting clear standards of practice and in creating meaningful accountability when these standards are not met.
It’s fair to say that the journalists had come across some examples of alleged poor practice and asked me for my thoughts on how the ECB might deal with these issues once we are undertaking operational oversight. And I was clear that when we encounter evidence of non-compliance with our standards, we will take robust action to address this and prevent recurrence. Stamping out any poor practice that we encounter will be absolutely key to pursuing our mission. I also stressed, as I always do, the importance of creating accountability for enforcement firms as well as individual certified enforcement agents.
Statutory powers was also a rich conversation point, and we talked at length about how the ECB’s position is to seek some targeted statutory powers that would allow us to make quicker and more efficient progress in pursuit of our mission.
However, I stressed my belief that the biggest changes won’t come from the exercise of any formal powers but instead they will derive from culture change and market powers – with creditors playing a key role in driving expectations.
After a successful first year, the interview was also a welcome opportunity to highlight the support industry has shown towards establishing independent oversight in this sector – including through two successful rounds of levy funding which has generated over £1.5m of funds for us.
Whilst a lot of what I said didn’t make it into the final programme, overall, it felt like a balanced investigation into an important area, which underlined the importance of independent oversight in this area.