Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the effect of discharged bankruptcy on the ability of entrepreneurs to set up new businesses.

Current bankruptcy provisions in the UK give a fresh start to a debtor after 12 months when he or she is discharged from the bankruptcy. In 2014, the EU Commission published its recommendation calling for a maximum 3 year discharge period across Europe in order to encourage entrepreneurship. I am pleased to note that we are already well within that recommendation. There are no plans to assess these provisions at present.

Once bankruptcy is discharged, there is no formal bar to an individual setting up a new business.