The Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) 1/7/09

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You may be aware that The Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 were laid before the Scottish Parliament in early June 2009 and were intended to come into effect on 1st July 2009.  These regulations prescribed radical changes to the set-up and operation of Debt Arrangement Schemes, (DAS) including the ability to apply for a Debt Payment Plan online and the abolition of the requirement for a money adviser to be involved prior to application.

The Regulations were, however, revoked on 25th June 2009.  There will, therefore, be no changes to the current law.

The Regulations were the result of a review carried out by the Accountant in Bankruptcy in 2008 which found a number of failings in the existing regulations and identified areas for improvement.

However, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Community Safety has indicated that he wishes formally to consult on DAS during the summer in order to consider options for future legislative change during the next session of Parliament.  The Accountant in Bankruptcy aims to issue a consultation paper in July and responses to this will inform legislative change in 2010.

This is not the first occasion where the Scottish Parliament has revoked insolvency related Regulations shortly before they were to come into force due to lack of consultation.  In a previous E-zine in April of this year, we explained that planned changes to the law relating to Earnings Arrestments which were revoked the week before they were due to come into force. On that occasion, the issue was a failure to consult stakeholders about the effect that the intended changes would have on payroll software used by many employers.

An update will be published when these Regulations have been properly consulted upon and the new legislation is to come into force.

Further information
If you have any queries about the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2007 or need detailed advice suited to your particular requirements please contact Ruari MacNeill, Claire Martin, or Andrew Foyle.


This bulletin is for general information only and does not constitute legal, investment or other professional advice. Please contact us should you require advice on any particular legal issue. Anderson Strathern LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise if reliance is placed on any information or opinions expressed in this bulletin.