Making permanent some of the temporary bankruptcy changes introduced by the emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020

New regulations issued in Scotland

New regulations have been issued in Scotland that make permanent some of the temporary bankruptcy changes introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic by the emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020.

In force from 29 March 2021, the Bankruptcy (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (SI.No.148/2021) -

• reduce bankruptcy application fees for debtors, including the full administration fee to £150 and the Minimal Asset Process fee to £50;
• remove bankruptcy application fees for those in receipt of prescribed benefits;
• increase the debt threshold for entering a Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy from £17,000 to £25,000;
• remove student loans from the debt threshold calculation for the purposes of accessing Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy;
• allow the electronic signature of bankruptcy forms; and
• increase the length of time for a trustee to submit an initial proposal for a Debtor’s Contribution Order from 6 weeks to 12 weeks.

SI.No.148/2021 is available from legislation.gov.uk