The Insolvency (England & Wales) Rules 2016 have come into force. The main changes brought in by the new rules include:
the removal of the requirement for creditors’ meetings;
restrictions on an office holder calling a physical meeting of creditors unless either 10% of creditors request they do so;
a new deemed consent procedure;
new decision making procedures including electronic voting and virtual meetings;
no requirement for a creditor to prove their debt by submitting a formal claim if it is less than £1,000 and the debtor’s accounting records or statement of affairs record the debt;
the abolition of the use of prescribed forms;
an increase in the use of websites by the office holder to publish notices to creditors;
communication by email is encouraged; and
the ability for creditors to opt out of receiving correspondence from office holders.
As these changes make clear, the thinking behind the new rules is to try to remove unnecessary regulatory burdens, and reduce the cost of administering insolvency proceedings partly by taking advantage of how people now often choose to communicate. The idea being that reducing the administrative costs will increase the amounts going back to creditors.
Information on the legislation and forms can be found here:
www.gov.uk/government/news/introduction-of-insolvency-rules-2016
In addition we will be happy to advise on any questions you have.