Setting a new bar
In my last blog, I discussed the importance of listening and learning from our stakeholders as we press ahead with our mission of ensuring that everyone who experiences enforcement action is treated fairly.
The team has been putting this into practice over the last month, as we prepared for the publication of our standards consultation- which has gone live today.
You can find it here: LINK
I am very pleased to be sharing this with you and to be opening it out to consultation, following significant conversations throughout the last year with our stakeholders, from those with lived experience of enforcement, debt advisors, enforcement agents and enforcement firms.
A tremendous amount of input has gone into getting the consultation ready for publication and I thank all who have taken the time to share their feedback with both myself and the team.
In the document, you will see a number of different areas that we would like your views on prior to the consultation closing on the 13th September 2024.
Standards
The consultation sets out the first full draft of our proposed new standards for enforcement work.
Our standards will build on the current National Standards owned by the Ministry of Justice.In many places they will reflect existing good practice and will set clear expectations to ensure that there are consistently high standards across the whole enforcement sector.
For the first time, they will place responsibilities on enforcement firms, as well as agents.
You can expect to see standards that clarify ‘grey areas’ in the current National Standards, as well as standards on key issues such as modes of entry to properties and misrepresentation of powers.
Accreditation criteria and operational oversight
In the consultation you will also see the draft accreditation criteria for year two of ECB accreditation, alongside our operational oversight model, which details how we will actually do our oversight in practice.
Meeting our new standards for enforcement will be a condition of our accreditation scheme
In addition to the accreditation criteria, you will see the wider accreditation framework which sets out the process for applying for accreditation and the steps that the ECB can take where accredited firms are found to have breached this, including sanctions.
Complaints
As the standards will also form the basis of our assessment for complaints, the consultation includes some high-level detail on the ECBs complaints model and supporting standards that will underpin this.
This includes things like defining what we mean by fair complaints handling and setting the acceptable timeframes for resolving complaints at a firm level, with the aim of creating a simpler and more accessible complaints system.
We will also be asking firms to prioritise learning from complaints to support a culture of ongoing improvement.
There will be detailed guidance provided to accompany the complaints standards, which we will consult on separately over the Autumn.
What next?
After the consultation closes, we will refine and finalise our standards, accreditation criteria, and oversight model, aiming for a launch by November this year.
Upon publication, we will explain how everyone’s feedback has influenced our decisions.
As always, we will collaborate with all sector stakeholders to ensure those on the frontline are informed about the new expectations and prepared to adapt to the upcoming requirements.
I hope that many of you will take part in the consultation. Please do take some time to think about the questions and send your responses to contact@enforcementconductboard.org
Until next time!
Chris