Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for introducing reforms to the UK's corporate insolvency framework after the UK went from 13th to 14th in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings in respect of resolving insolvencies.

In May 2016 the Government published its Review of the Corporate Insolvency Framework consultation. The consultation contained a package of proposals to improve the rescue opportunities for financially-distressed companies. A summary of responses to the consultation was published in September 2016.

Following the publication of the summary of responses, the Government has continued to engage with a range of interested parties to further discuss and explore issues raised in responses to the consultation. This further engagement will ensure that any reforms, if necessary, will be fit for purpose and best achieve the Government’s aims of rescuing distressed but viable businesses, preserving economic value and saving jobs.

The Government will set out the way forward for the proposals in its response later this year.