Our Work
Standards
Overview
As part of the ECB’s commitment to ensure everyone subject to enforcement action is treated fairly, we are producing a new set of standards for enforcement agents and enforcement agencies. This is so enforcement agents and people subject to enforcement action know what fair enforcement means in practice.
This page explains why we are doing this; how we will do it; the timetable for this work; and how we will be creating opportunities for individuals to feed in their views.
Background
The laws that explain what Enforcement Agents (EA’s) are allowed to do when enforcing a debt are set out in the Taking Control of Goods regulations. However, they do not dictate how enforcement agents should act when doing their job.
To address this, in 2014 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) introduced non-binding National Standards that set some expectations about how enforcement agents should behave.
The National Standards cover some important areas. However, we think they need updating and improving to make sure they:
- cover important issues like vulnerability and affordability;
- reflect best practice in modern day enforcement (e.g. the use of body worn video cameras); and
- cover the actions of enforcement firms as well as individual agents.
It is for this reason that we are working with the enforcement industry, debt advice sector and MoJ to develop our own new standards for enforcement agents.
ECB standards
Our new standards will launch in Autumn 2024 and will clearly set out our expectations for individual agents and agencies in the enforcement sector.
Meeting these standards will be a condition of our accreditation scheme. If a firm is found to not be following our standards, then we will have the option to remove their ECB accreditation.
The aim of our standards is to generate sustainable improvements to the enforcement sector, by incorporating existing good practice and setting clear expectations to ensure that there is a high standard of performance across the whole sector.
For agents our standards will build upon the existing National Standards and give clear guidance on what is expected of individual enforcement agents.
For enforcement firms we will set clear expectations of the necessary outcomes and actions, while allowing room for innovation and adaptation.
For creditors, we won’t be introducing any new standards in the first instance. However, as we recognise the key role creditors play in the enforcement process, we will continue to engage with them with a view to consulting on relevant standards in 2025/26. In the meantime, the existing standards for creditors will continue to apply.
Interaction with the existing National Standards
It is our intention that our standards will replace the current National Standards and we are working with the MoJ to ensure that enforcement agents and agencies have one clear set of standards to follow.
Timelines
We will be launching our new standards in Autumn 2024 – our current indicative timetable is below.
Phase of work | Key actions/milestones | Dates |
Development and drafting | Workshops with stakeholders to develop ideas, draft the standards and test proposals | Spring 24 |
Consultation | Launch the consultation, run consultation workshops and analyse consultation responses | Summer 24 |
Implementation | Publish standards and run Q&A sessions on implementation | Autumn 24 |
Implementation
Our standards must deliver sustainable change in the enforcement sector and in our implementation plan we will set out a timetable for businesses to meet the new standards. Many will be adopted immediately, but there will be some scenarios where businesses need time to adapt policies and processes to meet our standards and we intend to recognise that in the timetable we set for compliance with the new standards.
Getting involved in the standards design process
So that we can develop standards that are sustainable and ambitious, we want to hear from as many people who work in the enforcement and debt advice sectors as we can, as well as people who have experienced enforcement action themselves.
That’s why we will be carrying out a series of workshops, interviews and webinars in person and online in which we will gather views and test ideas.
The first workshops will focus on the views and experiences of enforcement agents. Details can be found below:
| Date | Location | Time | Closing date for sign up |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20th of March |
Online |
6pm to 8pm |
This workshop is now full. |
|
3rd of April |
Online |
6pm to 8pm |
19th of March |
|
17th of April |
Central London (venue TBC) |
6pm to 8pm |
3rd of April |
We would like to hear from you if you are currently a practicing enforcement agent completing either civil or high court enforcement and would like to share your experiences, alongside ideas of areas of improvement for the industry.
Attendees joining our in person workshops will have any reasonable travel expenses covered.
Please be sure to register your interest as soon as possible as we cannot guarantee you a space on your chosen date.
If you are interested in taking part, you can opt-in to this research using the below Microsoft forms link:
https://forms.office.com/e/HmGdpi065G
If you have any questions, please email our facilitation partner Thinks Insight via:
enforcement-agent-research@thinksinsight.com
This page will be updated with details of further workshops for other key stakeholders and alternative ways to get involved over the coming weeks.