Chief Executive’s Report, November 2024

Rhagymadrodd

1. The main outward focus over the last month was launching the new standards and BWV research and it was brilliant to get to this important milestone with such high quality products.
   
   
2. Our focus has now shifted to the complaints consultation and getting things ready for starting full operational oversight from January 2025. This has included welcoming two new members of the team and running two further successful recruitment campaigns to get our core team in place for next year. There’s still a lot to do before January but we are well placed to deliver and are looking forward to getting started on operational oversight.
   

Financial management update

1. The second round of levy collection is almost completed, and we are on course to realise our projected income for the year. A staged payment agreement has been made with one firm. While this does impact the ECB’s cashflow, it is not detrimental to our operation.
   
   
2. The reforecast, approved at October’s Board meeting, has superseded the original budget and is now the target we are measuring actual expenditure against. Total expenditure for the year to 31 October 2024 is £656k against the reforecast of £649k, representing a slight overspend of £7k. The budget line largely responsible for this overspend is legal fees which is a reforecast phasing issue and is therefore, not concerning. As always, the budget is actively monitored and the Executive is confident that there are no areas of concern.
   
   
3. The production of the budget for 2025/26 is underway and is being developed alongside the business plan. Early, high level figures are included in the Business Plan paper presented to the Board at this meeting and the full draft budget will be presented to the Board in January.
   

Staffing update

1. Since the last Board meeting, we have had two new members of the team join us. Our Administrative Officer started in late October and our Complaints Investigator started last week. Both have hit the ground running and are already making a positive contribution to the team’s progress towards its goals.
   
   
2. We have also now offered the position of Head of External Affairs and it has been accepted with the candidate joining us in the new year. The campaign to recruit to the Policy Manager has also resulted in an offer being made and we are going through recruitment checks at the moment.
   
   
3. We are also sad to be saying goodbye to our current Policy Manager who, after 18 months, will be leaving us at the end of December. She has had a huge impact on the ECB’s development but also on the ECB’s culture. We wish her all the best in the future.
   
   
4. We have been able to confirm with the Ministry of Justice that we will extend David Parkin’s secondment to the ECB by a further 12 months, to the end of December 2025. We are thrilled to have been able to secure this extension.
   

Achrediad

10. Year two of our accreditation scheme opened on Wednesday 30th October and so far, we have received a high volume of applications across private enforcement firms. We have also received a smaller but encouraging number of applications from in house teams at Local Authorities. A full updated list of all accredited firms and local authority teams will be published on our website and social media by Friday 6th December.
    

Datblygu Safonau ECB

11. We have now published the standards for firms and agents. These have been well received by both the enforcement and debt advice sector. As previously discussed, they will come into force from January 2025 with an expectation that the standards for agents are being applied from that date and that the standards for firms are applied from April 2025.
    
    
12. We are now working on guidance to accompany the standards. This will include guidance on reasonable belief as well as case-study type examples for enforcement agents to help clarify what is and isn’t in line with our standards.
    

Trin cwynion

13. We published the consultation on complaints on 10 October and received 24 responses. The consultation included the Guidance that accompanies the standards on complaints, together with the ECB’s Complaints Process, the ECB’s Guide to Remedy and the ECB’s Decision Review Process. The responses have been supportive of our proposals and the outcome is with Board for consideration.
    
    
14. Our new Complaints Investigator joined on Monday 11 November and has already spent a day with an Enforcement Agent. She will be focussing her efforts on getting the practicalities in place for us to launch our complaints function in January.
    

ICO Registration

15. We are aiming to register the ECB with the ICO at the end of the year, in time for the launch of the complaints function in January. There is a fair amount of work to do be done before registration and this will be a priority for the Head of Corporate Services between now and the end of the year.
    
    
16. The priority documents to be drafted/updated include the general privacy policy (to be updated for complainants), a specific employee privacy notice, a retention and disposal schedule, and an information management and data security policy. These will be supplemented by further audit activities and the development of a register. The Board will receive a bundle of data policies for approval in early December, out of cycle.
    

Data Returns

15. The deadline for firms to send their first set of 6 month Data Returns to the ECB expired on 30 October. The Director of Creditors and Government will present a paper on the results of the first DR (which was intended to be a pilot) at the Board meeting on 25 November. We are pleased to have received a full set of responses in a timely manner, which is very encouraging.
    

Ymgysylltu â chredydwyr

15. With the focus of work being on generating interest in accreditation from in-house local authority teams, we have had to minimise other creditor work recently. However, one potential creditor area we may develop more in 2025 is with energy companies, with two energy companies separately meeting the ECB recently to discuss their plans for returning to doorstep enforcement next year, and the opportunities for shared learning with the ECB on engagement and vulnerability.
    

Communications and Engagement

19. The Board received a separate update, out of committee, on the launch of the standards and BWV research.
    
    
20. The team are currently preparing communications for the launch of the publication of the accredited register and complaints in January 2025, alongside comprehensive handover for the new External Affairs team.
    
    
21. In addition to what has already been noted above, wider engagement over the last month has included:
    • Attending the MALG annual conference
    • Speaking at the CCUA annual conference
    • A meeting of our Stakeholder Engagement Forum
    • Attending Stepchange’s council tax event
    • Shadowing enforcement agents for new team members.
    

Political strategy and public affairs

22. In line with the Board’s political engagement strategy, letters have recently gone from the ECB Chair to the new Minister for the Courts at MoJ, Heidi Alexander, to publicise the BWV report and new Standards and to press for a meeting on statutory powers before Christmas; and also to several Parliamentarians likely to be ‘champions of the ECB, including Dame Nicky Morgan, Baroness Meacher and Ian Duncan Smith.
    

Ymgysylltu sydd ar ddod

23. Over the coming month, the team have the following engagements planned:
    • Attending the High Court Enforcement Officers Association Annual Luncheon
    • Leading a session at the Enforcement Law Review Group meeting in Westminster.