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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether recognised professional bodies may investigate the propriety of an insolvency practitioner’s decision to assign a claim after ownership of that claim has transferred.

Recognised Professional Bodies (RPBs) can investigate complaints about an insolvency practitioner’s conduct when carrying out their duties where that conduct falls short of professional or ethical standards.

This can include the practitioner’s conduct in deciding to assign a claim notwithstanding that ownership of the claim has subsequently transferred.

The Insolvency Practitioner Complaints Gateway considers whether a complaint raises a disciplinary matter for referral to the relevant RPB. Neither the Gateway nor the RPBs determine commercial or legal disputes, including disputes about ownership of a claim or the validity of its assignment, which are generally matters for the courts.