Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what service standards apply to (a) the initial assessment of complaints submitted to the Insolvency Service’s Complaints Gateway and (b) subsequent investigations by recognised professional bodies; and what proportion met those standards in each of the last three years.

The Insolvency Service’s Complaints Gateway service standard is to assess 85% of complaints within 15 working days. Within that time, a complaint will either be rejected as being out of scope or referred to the relevant Recognised Professional Body (RPB) for further investigation, and the complainant informed of the outcome.

The Insolvency Service does not publish performance data relating to the Complaints Gateway. Internal management information indicates:

The RPBs are responsible for investigating complaints about the insolvency practitioners they authorise and for managing the timescales of those investigations.