Insolvency Service The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott) My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Postal Services (Jim Fitzpatrick) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I have today agreed to the publishing of the Insolvency Service’s corporate plan for the period 2007 to 2010. The Insolvency Service plans to deal with some 77,000 new insolvencies in the year to 31 March 2008 principally as a result of a further increase in personal bankruptcies. Its planning assumption for the level of redundancy payments and other insolvency-related claims is 90,000 in the year. Action will continue to be taken against bankrupts and company directors in respect of financial misconduct or dishonesty and I have asked the service to increase its enforcement output by 7 per cent over that achieved in 2006-07. The companies investigation branch will continue to investigate the affairs of companies in the public interest and I have set targets in relation to the timeliness of dealing with complaints made and the handling of investigations that follow from those complaints. The service’s “Enabling the Future” strategy, a major programme of IT-led investment, will deliver savings over the period of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and I have therefore set the service a target to have reduced its case administration fees by 15 per cent by 31 March 2011. The corporate plan is available at: www.insolvency.gov.uk. I have also set the Insolvency Service the following targets for the year 2007-08: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Published Targets 2007-08 |Target 2007-08|Target 2006-07| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Case Administration Targets | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Reduce bankruptcy and company administration fees by 2010-11 from 1 April 2007 baseline by |15% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Maintain satisfaction level of bankrupts and directors |91% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Increase satisfaction level of insolvents’ creditors from 82.6% to |84% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Enforcement | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Increase the level of public confidence in the service's enforcement regime from 62.8% to |65% |60% | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Reduce the average time from insolvency order to the instigation of disqualification proceedings in appropriate cases|22 months |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Increase the quantity of enforcement outputs in 2007-08 from 2006-07 baseline by |7% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Companies Investigation | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Complete consideration of vetting complaints within two months |90% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Complete internal Section 447 investigations within six months |90% |New Target | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Redundancy Payments | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Maintain the cost of redundancy payment processing at the 2006-07 baseline|Maintain costs at 2006-07 levels|New Target| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Process redundancy payment claims for payment within: | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Three weeks |78% |78% | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Six weeks |92% |92% | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Increase satisfaction level of redundant employees from 74.2% to |78% |New Target| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In addition to these targets, the service is required to meet centrally promulgated targets relating to replying to correspondence from honourable Members, making payments to suppliers and reducing sick absence levels. The service will also look to maintain Charter Mark and Investors in People accreditation following reassessments during 2007-08. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Other Targets |Target 2007-08 |Target 2006-07 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Reply to correspondence from Members of Parliament within 10 days|100% |100% | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Process payments to suppliers in 30 days |100% |100% | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Reduce the level of sick absence |7.5 man days per employee|8.5 man days per employee| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------