Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the integrity of the marketing of IVA products; and what steps his Department is taking to regulate that practice.

BIS officials regularly discuss the operation of Individual Voluntary Arrangements with creditors, advice bodies and others with an interest in the process and a Protocol is in place to help raise standards in this area.

Where an insolvency practitioner appears to be connected to any instance of inappropriate marketing, this could be a breach of the Code of Ethics for insolvency practitioners and is referred to the appropriate authorising body. The Insolvency Service also considers whether if companies are giving misleading or inaccurate information, action to wind them up in the public interest would be appropriate. In 2013, eight companies were wound up in the public interest because of concerns about misleading marketing.

Regulation of advertising rests with the Advertising Standards Authority.