Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of statutory regulation for the bailiff industry.

Whilst most enforcement agencies have already signed up to the Enforcement Conduct Board’s (ECB) voluntary accreditation scheme, the Government believes that it is necessary to take action so that all enforcement agents, High Court Enforcement Officer and agencies are regulated to the same standards and overseen by the same body. To that end, a public consultation was launched on 9 June to explore how best to achieve this. The package of measures on which we are consulting includes a proposal to place the ECB on a statutory footing and for all enforcement agents to come within its auspices.

Responses to the consultation will inform legislation to be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.