Enforcement Survey

Introduction

The Civil Justice Council Enforcement Working Group has issued a Call for Evidence seeking your views on a range of questions relating to the enforcement of domestic judgments. There are 40 questions, falling into four main categories:

a) Your experience and awareness of enforcement

b) The supply of information about potential judgment debtors

c) The support provided for debtors

d) Possible improvements to the enforcement system

You can find the Call at the following Link.

Your survey responses will help formulate FOIL's response. No identifying data will be used in FOIL's response to the Call.

This survey will close on 30 August 2024.

Question Title

* 1. What forms of enforcement do you use?

	Do not use	Occasional or Infrequent use	Regular use	Preferred choice of enforcement
Charging Orders	Charging Orders Do not use	Charging Orders Occasional or Infrequent use	Charging Orders Regular use	Charging Orders Preferred choice of enforcement
Attachment of Earning Orders	Attachment of Earning Orders Do not use	Attachment of Earning Orders Occasional or Infrequent use	Attachment of Earning Orders Regular use	Attachment of Earning Orders Preferred choice of enforcement
Third Party Debt Orders	Third Party Debt Orders Do not use	Third Party Debt Orders Occasional or Infrequent use	Third Party Debt Orders Regular use	Third Party Debt Orders Preferred choice of enforcement
Warrant or Writs of Control	Warrant or Writs of Control Do not use	Warrant or Writs of Control Occasional or Infrequent use	Warrant or Writs of Control Regular use	Warrant or Writs of Control Preferred choice of enforcement
Insolvency Proceedings	Insolvency Proceedings Do not use	Insolvency Proceedings Occasional or Infrequent use	Insolvency Proceedings Regular use	Insolvency Proceedings Preferred choice of enforcement
Contempt Proceedings	Contempt Proceedings Do not use	Contempt Proceedings Occasional or Infrequent use	Contempt Proceedings Regular use	Contempt Proceedings Preferred choice of enforcement
Freezing Orders	Freezing Orders Do not use	Freezing Orders Occasional or Infrequent use	Freezing Orders Regular use	Freezing Orders Preferred choice of enforcement
Other	Other Do not use	Other Occasional or Infrequent use	Other Regular use	Other Preferred choice of enforcement

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* 2. Explain your ranking and use of options in question 2?

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* 3. What relevance do debt collection standards and practices outside the court system have to your daily work?

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* 4. What further information from potential judgment debtors should be captured either before or during court proceedings? Please identify any proposed information capture mechanism.

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* 5. What information should be provided to the claimant (judgment creditor) about the judgement debtor at the time of the judgment? Should the judgement creditor have direct and automatic access to information held by third parties like banks and credit agencies?

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* 6. What additional support and information should be provided to a judgment debtor following a judgment?

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* 7. Are there any particularly vulnerable debtors that need additional support during the enforcement process? If so, please identify the rationale and the support required.

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* 8. Should active steps be taken by the Court to identify and validate defendants that are/claim to be in receipt of state benefits?

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* 9. What reforms do consider are necessary for the effective operation of the enforcement system and why?

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* 10. How could we design and operate an enforcement system in relation to two specific categories of debtor: (a) those debtors who refuse to pay for reasons unrelated to financial means and (b) those debtors that acknowledge the validity of the debt but do not have the capacity/means to pay?