Call for public insolvency register to become private

Money Wellness, four MPs and twelve organisations are leading a call to make the public insolvency register private. Someone fleeing an abusive partner who needs help with their debts can have their name, date of birth and home address published on the Government’s Individual Insolvency Register.

The register is publicly accessible for anyone to search. There is a way to stop an address being published, but survivors must apply for a Persons At Risk of Violence (PARV) order, a process that can require them to complete detailed legal forms, set out in a written witness statement about what their abuser did to them and why they fear further violence, provide evidence of the risk and attend a court hearing. Approval can take up to 20 weeks.

Last year, following campaigning by Money Wellness, the Government abolished the £318 PARV order fee, removing a major financial barrier for survivors who were already facing serious financial hardship. The Ministry of Justice publicly credited Money Wellness with securing the change.

The free debt advice provider says removing the cost was an important first step, but that the process behind it remains a barrier for people who have just left an abusive relationship.

Now Money Wellness is calling for the Individual Insolvency Register to be made private, so survivors are protected by default rather than having to go through a court process to keep their address confidential.

The call is backed by Iqbal Mohamed MP, Jess Asato MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP and Sarah Russell MP, alongside Refuge, the Salvation Army, Nationwide, Christians Against Poverty, Lowell, Hourglass, PayPlan, Debt Advice Foundation, Trafford Domestic Abuse Services, National Zakat Foundation and Helen Pettifer Training.

People entering insolvency currently have personal details published on the Individual Insolvency Register and in the London Gazette. For survivors of domestic abuse, that can create a serious safety risk, and Money Wellness says the process for avoiding it can deter people from seeking help altogether, leaving them exposed to further harm, including the risk of being located by an abuser.

It can also force people into an impossible choice. Because a PARV order can take weeks to approve, some survivors go ahead with a debt solution without one rather than wait, leaving their address publicly available in the meantime.

A private model already exists elsewhere in the debt system. The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) Register is accessible only to those with a legitimate need to know, such as creditors and credit reference agencies.

Money Wellness is calling on the Government to make the Individual Insolvency Register private ahead of the wider Personal Insolvency Framework Review.
The organisation says Ministers already have the power to make the change through secondary legislation. The register is established under the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, made under the Insolvency Act 1986. The rules can be amended through a statutory instrument, meaning primary legislation is not required.

A new open letter to Baroness Lloyd of Effra, Minister for Space, Cyber and Regulatory Reform, calls on the Government to introduce this change ahead of the wider review, providing immediate protection while longer-term reforms are developed.

Adam Rolfe, Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Money Wellness, said “We got the fee scrapped, and the Government deserves credit for that. But removing the fee does not remove the obstacle. We are still asking people who have fled violence to write down what their abuser did to them, provide evidence of it and potentially say it in front of a court, simply to stop their address appearing on a public register. And we’re not doing this on our own. Domestic abuse charities, debt advice organisations, major creditors, and MPs from four different parties have all been hugely supportive and have put their names to this letter, and that tells you how important this change is. Making the register private is the next logical step. It would protect survivors by default and remove the need for a court process altogether. Survivors should not have to fight for their privacy and safety.”