Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the Debt Arrangement Scheme in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

In its response to the Independent Review of the Money Advice Service (March 2015), the coalition government agreed to review the legal framework for debt administration, and to consider the impacts of additional statutory protections for consumers.

As I said in Parliament on 29 March, the government is looking carefully at a breathing space scheme for England and Wales, and fully supports the principles of better debt management and lower levels of problem debt. However, any new spending proposals must be considered carefully. The government will continue to look into the options for a breathing space scheme.