Insolvency Service
The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade with headquarters in London. It has around 1,700 staff, operating from 22 locations across Great Britain.
Agency overview
1,700
- Dean Beale, Chief Executive
The Insolvency Service administers compulsory company liquidations and personal bankruptcies and deals with misconduct through investigation of companies and enforcement. It also makes redundancy payments in cases where a company is insolvent.[1]
It is responsible for authorising and regulating the insolvency profession. They:[1]
Working under the Insolvency Acts[edit]
The Insolvency Service operates under a statutory framework – mainly the Insolvency Act 1986, the Insolvency Act 2000, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and the Employment Rights Act 1996. Insolvency Service staff are based across the UK in a network of 38 official receiver offices throughout England and Wales;
Expansion of the Insolvency Service[edit]
On 1 April 2006, Companies Investigation Branch of BERR transferred to the service and is based in offices in both London and Manchester. The new debt relief orders which came into force on 6 April 2009 under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 are not dealt with by official receivers' offices but at the service's Plymouth office.
In April 2003, the Redundancy Payments Service transferred to the Insolvency Service. This enabled a joined-up approach to company failure and any consequential redundancies to be had and this is demonstrated on a frequent basis.
The Agency Chief Executive is the Agency Accounting Officer and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Service. Dean Beale succeeded Sarah Albon on 4 November 2020.
The Insolvency Service Board is responsible for the long-term success of the agency. This includes:
The board is made up of both executive and non-executive members.
The executive members are:
The non-executive members are: