Protected trust deeds: improving the process consultation

3. PTD Requirements

3.1 The debtor's individual financial circumstances will be examined to ensure that the most appropriate debt relief or debt management solution is employed in accordance with SIP 3A (Scotland) section 5.7. Where a PTD is deemed to be the appropriate option for the debtor, the following requirements must be met:

• The debtor is able to pay a contribution from their income, or income supplied by a third party, for a period of no less than 3 years* to enable payment of their trustee's fees and costs as well as the expected dividend, and/or
• The debtor has assets which can be realised to provide sufficient available funds to both pay the trustee's fees and costs as well as the expected dividend to creditors.
• Where a debtor's sole income is derived from benefits or tax credits as laid down in Section 187 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 Chapter 5 (as amended) or Section 45 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (as amended), it should not be appropriate for an income based PTD to be considered.

* The contribution period can be less than 3 years if the debtor is able to repay all outstanding debts plus statutory interest within a shorter timescale. This situation may arise due to a windfall or change in the debtor's circumstances.