Taking Control of Goods Procedure: Reforms

Sarah Sackman Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2025 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Sarah Sackman)]

The Government are today announcing a balanced package of measures about the independent regulation of the enforcement sector and changes to the taking control of goods procedure. These measures aim to protect those facing enforcement action, enabling them to get debt support while ensuring that there is a fair system of enforcement so that public bodies and businesses can recover moneys owed to them.

Rights only exist if they can be enforced. That requires us to have an effective enforcement system—one that makes securing awards made by the courts straightforward and timely, while treating parties who owe money with dignity. A fair and stable enforcement system is one that can deliver better outcomes for all.

The private enforcement sector recovers a significant amount of debt each year, with a sizeable portion owed to local authorities and central Government, which is used to fund public services. There is, however, concern about the impact that some enforcement agencies are having on some vulnerable people in debt and those struggling to pay money owed. Many parties, including the Justice Committee and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, have called for statutory independent regulation of the enforcement sector. The Civil Justice Council published a report in April 2025 which echoed that recommendation.

Although most enforcement agencies have already signed up to the Enforcement Conduct Board’s voluntary accreditation scheme and are funding its oversight activity, the Government believe that it is necessary to take action so that all enforcement agents, High Court enforcement officers and agencies are regulated to the same standards, overseen by the same independent body. The Government will today open a consultation about how to do so.

As set out in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s regulation action plan, when regulation is designed well it can be an essential tool to promote growth and investment and protect the public. We will introduce independent statutory regulation of the sector, in line with the objectives in the action plan and our work across Government to cut the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament. The consultation seeks views, among other things, on how to ensure that a regulator’s statutory objectives are targeted and proportionate, and to consider how it will be held to account for its performance.

The consultation will run for a six-week period. The Government welcome responses from everybody with an interest in this area. The responses will inform legislation to be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Alongside this, the Government have also published their response to a consultation that was held in 2023 about amending the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 and intend to implement some interim reforms. These aim to increase the proportion of cases that settle at the earliest and cheapest stages of the enforcement process by, for example, extending the amount of notice that people must be given before an enforcement visit, giving them more time to access debt advice and/or set up a payment agreement.

We have also provided an update regarding the outcome of a 2023 review about the fees that the enforcement sector can recover from those facing enforcement, and plan to implement the following changes:

Uplifting the fixed fees that enforcement agents and High Court enforcement officers can recover from judgment debtors by 5%. This will be the first uplift to the fees since 2014. We consider it is necessary to do so to ensure that enforcement firms are adequately remunerated for the work they do in order to ensure the sustainability of the sector.

Uplifting by 24% the thresholds above which enforcement agents and High Courtenforcement officers can recover a percentage fee. The taking control of goods regulations specify that debts over the prescribed thresholds, that reach the enforcement stage, will attract an additional percentage fee of 7.5% of the value of the debt that is above the threshold. Uplifting the value of the thresholds will, therefore, reduce the proportion of cases that will incur this additional percentage fee.

The Government intend to lay a statutory instrument in Parliament to implement the fee uplifts and interim reforms as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The Government recognise concerns around the impact that certain collection and enforcement processes—in particular, council tax—have on vulnerable people. That is why we have also committed to consulting on modernising the administration of the council tax system, including the processes for collecting and enforcing council tax. The consultation will be published later this year by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

[HCWS687]