Annex 2 - Terms of Reference
The
Lord Chancellor announced the Review of Enforcement in March 1998:
- to examine the present methods available for enforcement of county
court and High Court judgments, to assess their effectiveness, identify
the reasons for any ineffectiveness, to identify what changes would be
necessary to enhance the effectiveness of the current methods of enforcement;
and to make costed recommendations;
- to examine the information, advice and assistance currently available
to creditors and debtors, to identify what changes would be necessary
to enhance the effectiveness of the current methods of enforcement; and
to make costed recommendations;
- to review the powers of bailiffs (county court and private sector)
to determine what changes to their powers would be needed to enhance the
effective enforcement of civil court judgments and to increase uniformity;
and to make costed recommendations;
- to consider what amendment is needed for the successful implementation
of section
13 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990; and to make costed recommendations;
- to consider whether, and if so how, the present power to distrain for
rent should be abolished (as recommended by the Law Commission); and to
make costed recommendations.
Phase Two of the Review
The second phase of the review commenced in June 2000:
- to identify, in the light of the amended procedures and revised powers
of bailiffs, the type of agent(s) or form of agency which should be responsible
for carrying out those enforcement procedures; and to make costed recommendations;
- to implement those recommendations accepted by the Lord Chancellor
(including a unified set of Rules of Court for enforcement);
- to gather the necessary data to make comparisons between the current
and revised methods of enforcement and to evaluate the effectiveness of
the project.
Broadened scope of the Review
On 6 March 2001, the Lord
Chancellor announced a broadened scope for Phase Two of the Review,
to look at structures for, and regulation of, civil enforcement agents generally,
not just those within the High Court and county courts. The Government has
been considering whether a new structure for, and regulation of, warrant
enforcement agents in the civil courts could be extended to provide a common
system across all enforcement including parking charges, fines, breaches
of community sentences, local and national taxes and duties, maintenance
and child support.
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