Insolvency Act 1986, section 251L

Power of official receiver to revoke or amend a debt relief order

Part 7A Debt relief orders

(1)The official receiver may revoke or amend a debt relief order during the applicable moratorium period in the circumstances provided for by this section.

(2)The official receiver may revoke the order on the ground that—

(a)any information supplied to him by the debtor—

(i)in, or in support of, the application, or

(ii)after the determination date,

was incomplete, incorrect or otherwise misleading;

(b)the debtor has failed to comply with a duty under section 251J;

(c)a bankruptcy order has been made in relation to the debtor; or

(d)the debtor has made a proposal under Part 8 (or has notified the official receiver of his intention to do so).

(3)The official receiver may revoke the order on the ground that he should not have been satisfied—

(a)that the debts specified in the order were qualifying debts of the debtor as at the application date;

(b)that the conditions specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4ZA were met;

(c)that the conditions specified in Part 2 of that Schedule were met or that any failure to meet such a condition did not prevent his making the order.

(4)The official receiver may revoke the order on the ground that either or both of the conditions in paragraphs 7 and 8 of Schedule 4ZA (monthly surplus income and property) are not met at any time after the order was made.

For this purpose those paragraphs are to be read as if references to the determination date were references to the time in question.

(5)Where the official receiver decides to revoke the order, he may revoke it either—

(a)with immediate effect, or

(b)with effect from such date (not more than three months after the date of the decision) as he may specify.

(6)In considering when the revocation should take effect the official receiver must consider (in the light of the grounds on which the decision to revoke was made and all the other circumstances of the case) whether the debtor ought to be given the opportunity to make arrangements for making payments towards his debts.

(7)If the order has been revoked with effect from a specified date the official receiver may, if he thinks it appropriate to do so at any time before that date, revoke the order with immediate effect.

(8)The official receiver may amend a debt relief order for the purpose of correcting an error in or omission from anything specified in the order.

(9)But subsection (8) does not permit the official receiver to add any debts that were not specified in the application for the debt relief order to the list of qualifying debts.

(10)The rules may make further provision as to the procedure to be followed by the official receiver in the exercise of his powers under this section.

Definitions used in section 251L 6

debt relief order

“debt relief order” means an order made by the official receiver under this Part;

Defined in s.251X(1) · see it in the full Act
the debtor

(2) In Schedule 6 “the debtor” means the company or the individual concerned.

Defined in s.386(2) · see it in the full Act
debtor

“debtor” means—

(a)

in relation to an application for a debt relief order, the applicant; and

(b)

in relation to a debt relief order, the person in relation to whom the order is made;

Defined in s.251X(1) · see it in the full Act
the determination date

“the determination date”, in relation to a debt relief order or an application for a debt relief order, means the date on which the application for the order is determined by the official receiver;

Defined in s.251X(1) · see it in the full Act
qualifying debt

(2) In this Part “qualifying debt” means (subject to subsection (3)) a debt which—

(a)is for a liquidated sum payable either immediately or at some certain future time; and

(b)is not an excluded debt.

Defined in s.251A(2) · see it in the full Act

“qualifying debt”, in relation to a debtor, has the meaning given in section 251A(2);

Defined in s.251X(1) · see it in the full Act
the application date

“the application date”, in relation to a debt relief order or an application for a debt relief order, means the date on which the application for the order is made to the official receiver;

Defined in s.251X(1) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 251L 3

Howard, R (on the application of) v The Official Receiver

[2013] EWHC 1839 (Admin) · 28 June 2013Interprets

Interprets the revocation power as a judicial function because its exercise determines whether creditors’ enforcement rights remain suspended or are restored and whether the debtor remains protected or becomes liable to repay. (see paras [84]; [176]; [185]-[206])

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Payne and another

[2011] UKSC 60 · 14 December 2011

The provision empowers the official receiver to revoke or amend a debt relief order (see para [11]).

Secretary of State for Work & Pensions v Payne & Anor

[2010] EWCA Civ 1431 · 14 December 2010

The court refers to section 251L in describing the possibility of revocation during the moratorium if objections or investigations justify that result. (see para [74])

What each judgment says about section 251L is in the case-law panel in the full Act.