HC Deb 02 May 1973 vol 855 cc321-2W
Mr. Clinton Davis

asked the Attorney-General how many cases there have been in 1972 when defaulting judgment debtors in county courts in England and Wales have moved from addresses communicated to the court at the time of entry of such judgment without notifying the court of the change of address.

The Attorney-General

Statistics of such cases are not collected.

Mr. Clinton Davis

asked the Attorney-General what research has been done by his Department into the question of debtors failing to notify any change of address to the county court, thereby depriving judgment creditors of any effective remedy; and if he will make a statement.

The Attorney-General

No research specifically directed to this question has been undertaken, although the Payne Committee on the Enforcement of Judgment Debts (Cmnd. 3909) considered whether the whole burden of ascertaining a debtor's circumstances for the purposes of executing a judgment against him should rest on the creditor. It is an offence under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 for a debtor whose wages have been attached to fail to notify the court of a change of employment. The difficulty of tracing absconding debtors will be taken into account in considering further implementation of some of the recommendations of the Payne Committee.