Wrong to penalise bankrupts, says Prospect

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Wrong to penalise bankrupts, says Prospect

Staff based at the Insolvency Service’s (IS) Ladywood House site in Birmingham are to protest at plans to move the office to the city outskirts which, they say, will have a negative impact on service users at a time when they are most vulnerable.



Representatives from staff unions say management have ignored their fears that the move will not provide the efficiency savings required and will cost bankrupts additional travel costs at a time when they can least afford it.

On behalf of nearly 60 Prospect members at IS, assistant branch secretary Yvette Hill said that at 12 noon on Thursday July 26 members will take part in a protest walk from Ladywood House to its satellite office in Cobalt Square – a distance comparable to the areas being considered for the new headquarters site. Photographers are welcome to attend.

"The aim," said Hill, "is to demonstrate the additional time and expense the relocation will incur. Anyone declaring themselves bankrupt, as well as directors of limited companies that have been wound up by the court, are required to attend at least one interview with the Official Receiver to provide information about their assets, liabilities and the reasons for their insolvency.

"Some may have already travelled many miles to the Birmingham Official Receiver's Office. Moving the premises to the outskirts of the city will increase their journeys by at least 30 minutes in each direction."

The impact, she said, would not be limited to individuals being made bankrupt at Birmingham’s County Court, but also those made bankrupt at the County Courts in Kidderminster, Coventry, Stourbridge, Dudley, Wolverhampton and Warwick whose cases are dealt with by the Official Receiver’s Office in Birmingham.

In addition, Prospect argues that IS have failed to consider the impact on staff efficiency, as large amounts of the working day will be lost travelling to and from meetings, or the effect the move will have on the organisation’s ability to recruit and retain.