Protected Trust Deeds (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024: island communities impact assessment screening

Step Three – Consultation

Stakeholder groups

28. A number of proposals in these Regulations are stakeholder-led. Scottish Ministers committed to undertake a wide-ranging policy review of Scotland’s statutory debt solutions. As part of that review working groups were formed with key stakeholders from the debt, creditor and insolvency practitioner’s sector. Their remit was to look at the operation of existing statutory debt solutions and provide recommendations for improvement. The recommendations put forward by the working groups have formed the basis of these Regulations.

Public consultation

29. In August 2022, the Scottish Government published ‘Scotland’s statutory debt solutions and diligence - policy review response: consultation’. Within the consultation the Scottish Government proposed a series of improvements to the statutory debt solutions from the recommendations of the working groups and asked for further views.

Other consultation

30. The following four provisions in these Regulations were not included in the public consultation:

• allow for the removal of protected status of a PTD where there has been an error made in the process of the trust deed gaining protected status
• allow AiB to act as trustee of last resort where a trustee can no longer act in that capacity and a replacement trustee cannot be found
• increase to the PTD supervision fee
• clarification on residency criteria to apply for a PTD

31. The Scottish Government consulted directly with the members of the PTD Standing Committee on these provisions. The PTD Standing Committee is composed of members from the creditor, insolvency practitioner and debt advice sector as well as recognised professional bodies. The Committee provides information and guidance to AiB on the administration of trust deeds and helps identify any issues or areas of concern in the process. Its general purpose is to act as a discussion forum for stakeholders to ensure there is an effective conduit for the receipt and dissemination of information concerning PTDs across stakeholder groups and interested parties.

Conclusion

32. There were no concerns raised either from the consultation responses or from any other stakeholder engagement about any undue impact the provisions would have on the island communities.