Consultation on an enforcement statutory regulator

The Government believes that there should be an independent statutory regulator put in place to provide oversight of those in the enforcement sector who use the Taking Control of Goods (TCoG) procedure.

Their aim is to protect vulnerable people, enhance customer protection, strengthen accountability and improve standards.

Consultation

The Government has launched a consultation, which ends on 21st July 2025, on whether there should be a regulator and to consider what responsibilities and powers the regulator should be given.

Enforcement Conduct Board

The Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) was set up in 2022 as a voluntary, independent oversight body for enforcement, incorporating representatives from both the enforcement and debt advice sectors.

The ECB set up accreditation criteria and invited enforcement companies to become accredited, which firms representing 96% of the market share undertook, approximately 40 companies.

Since the initial accreditation started, the ECB has consulted on and published new enforcement professional standards and complaints procedures, which all accredited companies are complying with.

All of the companies in our group – High Court Enforcement Group, Excel Civil Enforcement and The Sheriffs Office - were accredited at the outset and remain so. We also adhere to their standards and complaints procedures.

The ECB has also recently launched accreditation for local authorities that manage enforcement via their in-house enforcement agents. Nine local authorities have signed up so far.

What would statutory regulation entail?

This would mean that any enforcement company operating under the TCoG regulations would have to be authorised by the ECB, comply with their professional standards and procedures, as well as pay the levy that funds the ECB.

It is also proposed in the consultation that the ECB will take over the certification of enforcement agents (EA) and the authorisation of High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEO) from the courts, to free up court time.

Consultation

The consultation includes the following questions:

• Should there be a statutory regulator?
• Should the Government legislate that all organisations that enforce debts using the TCoG process be accredited or licensed by an independent statutory regulator?
• Should the certification of EAs and the authorisation of HCEOa be moved from the courts to the statutory regulator?
• Should the statutory regulator be given powers to monitor the work of enforcement firms and, if so, what should those powers be?
• Should the regulator be given powers to gather data from the enforcement sector?
• Should the regulator be able to share data with other bodies, and if so, which?

To take part in the consultation and view the full documentation, please visit the GOV.UK website.