§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the current costs for which(a) a company, (b) a creditor and (c) a debtor is responsible when petitioning for bankruptcy; how much revenue has been 382W generated from the costs of administering (i) company winding up petitions, (ii) creditors' bankruptcy petitions and (iii) debtors bankruptcy petitions in each year since 1997, broken down by (A) nation and (B) region of the United Kingdom; and what plans he has to undertake a review of these costs. [137844]
§ Mr. LeslieThe cost of insolvency from the point of view of the parties is made up of(a) fees charged by the Court Service, an executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, on issue and subsequent steps in the court proceedings; (b) fees charged by the Insolvency Service (part of the DTI); (c) lawyers and accountants fees.
My Department is not in a position to provide a breakdown of (a-c) from the point of view of the parties to the proceedings, either nationally or locally as it deals only with the part of the process relevant to (a).
The fees currently payable (relevant to (a) above) on issue of proceedings are:
Debtor's Petition: £140
Creditor's Petition: £180
Winding up Petition: £180
Further fees may be payable during the course of the proceedings depending on the steps taken by parties. Those unable to pay the fees and in receipt of specified means tested benefits may claim exemption. Those not qualifying for exemption may apply for remission on grounds of hardship.
Lists of the fees payable on issue of insolvency proceedings (and the exemption and remission provisions) are published annually in the Civil Court Practice. Prior to the Civil Justice Reforms of April 1999 the same information was published annually in the County Court Practice and Supreme Court Practice. All of these publications are available in the Library of both Houses.
Figures on cost and income in insolvency proceedings (relevant to (a) above) are published in the Court Service Annual Report and Accounts. In the latest edition, 2002–03 (page 51), the cost of insolvency to the Court Service was put at £9,259,000. Income was put at £7,103,000. The Court Service Annual Report and Accounts is available in the Library of both Houses and on the internet www.courtservice.gov.uk/about_us/our_performance/annual report_02_03_contents.htm.
The Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor has no plan to carry out a review of the total cost of insolvency from the point of view of the parties to the proceedings.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs in how many petitions for debtors' bankruptcy in each year since 1997 the court fee was waived because the petitioner was receiving on benefits, broken down by nation and region. [137843]
§ Mr. LeslieFigures collected centrally relating to the number of applications for fee exemption and/or remission are not broken down into specific insolvency 383W petition type and do not include the reasons therefore. They have been collected since April 1998 and only relate to the county courts in England and Wales.
Applications for fee exemption/remission in Insolvency petitions made in the county courts Region 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 East Midlands 47 118 169 300 338 327 Eastern 76 302 491 579 747 569 London 4 22 52 82 250 157 Merseyside 3 32 48 96 165 179 North East 11 37 161 272 204 595 North West 132 170 265 479 481 538 South East 302 307 479 537 719 691 South West 107 310 372 674 813 948 West Midlands 121 133 175 234 414 490 Yorkshire & Humber 139 570 901 895 919 586 England 942 2,001 3,113 4,148 5,050 5,080 Wales 38 93 357 536 468 288 England & Wales 980 2,094 3,470 4,684 5,518 5,368