Introduction
This is the final report of the Advisory Group and, as such, represents the views of the Group. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs nor those of his Department. The recommendations contained will be relayed to Ministers. They will also be passed to the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the body which it is planned will regulate the civil enforcement field. However, the final decisions on how to deal with the transition of existing members of the enforcement industry rest with the SIA.
As the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Group on Enforcement Service Delivery, we are tasked with advising Ministers (annex A). Specifically, we have been asked to consider the question of transitional arrangements for the enforcement sector whilst a regulatory regime is introduced.
The issue is not made any easier to resolve by the varied nature of an industry which has grown up in an almost piecemeal fashion. As well as different operatives working in different parts of the court structure, the industry also encompasses the private and public sectors.
Summary of recommendations
The whole concept of regulation of the enforcement industry is underpinned by ensuring the competence and fitness to practice of the agents operating within it. Rightly or wrongly certain areas of the industry have received poor publicity in recent times and it is imperative that enforcement agents be adequately qualified and that they are seen to be qualified.
We completely reject any suggestion that agents already active in the industry, in both private and public sectors, should be automatically "passported" into the new regime on the basis of their existing experience. There seems little point in introducing regulation if there is no guarantee that standards are to be raised.
All agents will be required to train for and pass the necessary qualifications, as determined by the regulatory body. We accept that there are operatives working in the industry who have already completed formal training and have qualifications accredited by reputable awarding bodies and that such qualifications should be recognised to the extent that they meet and cover the necessary competences identified by the regulatory body. However, we believe that the regulatory body should have complete discretion to assess the qualifications of those applying for licences on case-by-case basis.
We believe that the competence-based strategy that the Security Industry Authority is employing in regulating other areas of the security industry is appropriate to the enforcement industry. We support a system which analytically arrives at a framework of skills that are required to carry out the various aspects of enforcement, and those that are common to all areas, and then establishes the standard to which they should be met. We see it is as imperative that the resultant training and qualifications be finalised in consultation with the various affected parts of the industry.
We fully accept the need to use reasonable lead times which give existing operatives in the industry sufficient time from the period that training becomes available, to the time when licences become compulsory, to obtain the necessary qualifications. We recommend that there be a 42 month transitional period which will not only meet this requirement but will tackle the potential problem of certificated bailiffs whose certificate lapses during the transitional period. We believe that this period, from Royal Assent to the date on which licences become compulsory, should take no more than 42 months and indeed may take considerably less depending on the experiences and lessons learned by the SIA in licensing other part of the industry.
Annex A - terms of reference
The Advisory Group will:
advise the Lord Chancellor, within three months of appointment, on the impact on the enforcement services market (in the private and public sectors) of the regulatory regime proposed in Towards Effective Enforcement. The Report to cover:
the likely impact of regulation on the number, location and availability of enforcement agents to meet current and likely future business needs;
the relative effectiveness and efficiency of the different enforcement structures currently in place;
the relative effectiveness and efficiency of the different procurement models currently in place; and
whether there is a level of debt (in any enforcement business sector) below which the market would not be able to operate effectively and efficiently.
advise the Lord Chancellor, in time to inform the White Paper, in the light of the findings in its first report on the structures within which enforcement services should be delivered (within a regulated regime) in respect of the main areas of enforcement business.
advise the Lord Chancellor, in time to inform the White Paper, on the transitional arrangements necessary to move from current structures to those it advises should be adopted for the future.
assist policy officials in taking forward the proposals from the White Paper in relation to regulation and structure informing legislative proposals.
advice should be in line with the government's overall programme of modernisation - to make life better for people and business
give full consideration to opportunities and risks arising from the greater use of new technology in the delivery of enforcement services
Copies of the report available from
Copies of the full report are available from David Ilic at:
Civil Enforcement Branch
Department for Constitutional Affairs
Selborne House, Rm 3.23
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW
Tel: 020-7210 8654
Fax: 020-7210 8559
Email: David Ilic