Scottish Diligence Statistics
Financial Year
2012/2013
Table of Contents
Contents
1.Introduction
2.Diligence Statistics for the Year 2012-13
3.Warrants Raised in Pursuit of Diligence
4.Charge for Payment
5.Diligences Executed by Warrant Type
6.Diligence Executed by Sheriffdom
7.Inhibition
8.Summary of Findings
Annex A
Earnings arrestment
Scottish Diligence Statistics – 2012-13
1.Introduction
Background
Diligence
Diligence is the term for various processes of civil enforcement in Scottish law. A person or organisation (the creditor) can use diligence if someone who owes them money (the debtor) has failed to pay a sum due. The creditor must have a decree (court order) enforceable in Scotland, or a document of debt such as a Summary Warrant before they can carry out diligence.
The court order gives the creditor authority to recover money due to them using whichever method of legal debt enforcement they choose. In most cases, the creditor must also serve a Charge for Payment and issue a Debt Advice and Information Package (DAIP) before using diligence.
Collation of Diligence Statistics
In accordance with Section 84 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, officers of court are required to collate and return to the Lord Advocate information regarding their official function. This information must be returned in such form and at such times as specified.
The Lord Advocate may, in whichever form he sees fit, publish the information submitted by the officers of court. However, information must be published in such a way that the individuals who are subject to diligence or officers of court cannot be identified. The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) now fulfils this function.
In September 2009, Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) agreed to the transfer of responsibility for the collation of diligence statistics from the Scottish Government’s Justice Analytical Services division to AiB.
Information on the various types of diligence used in Scotland is available at
Annex A.
2.Diligence Statistics for the Year 2012-13
Officers of court are required to submit diligence information on a quarterly basis, beginning in April each year. Each quarter the following information is provided:
- number of charge for payments served,
- number of diligences executed by warrant type, and
- number of diligences executed in each sheriffdom.
The statistics in this report are based on the above information submitted by officers of court, along with general data on the use of Inhibition, supplied by Registers of Scotland, for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.
3.Warrants Raised in Pursuit of Diligence
3.1Summary Warrant
The summary warrant procedure is a means for certain public creditors to pursue the amounts they are owed. Used mainly by local authorities and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, this process involves a summary application to court in respect of debts due by several different debtors. No hearing is held, however statutory notices are provided to the debtor prior to application. The diligence returns break down the summary warrant debt into two categories, those warrants raised for the pursuit of payment of council tax and community charge debt, and all other summary warrant debt. Diligence on the dependence is not available for summary warrant actions.
3.2Non-summary Warrant
Non summary warrant debt is the term used in the diligence returns for all executions of diligences that are not part of the summary warrant process. This encompasses all other types of debt, including consumer debt, for example, personal loans, credit card debt.
4.Charge for Payment
For most diligences, the creditor must serve the debtor with a Charge for Payment before the debt can be recovered. The Charge for Payment is a formal demand for payment of the amount owed to the creditor, including any interest and associated costs, and generally gives the debtor 14 days to make payment. If the debtor does not satisfy the debt within the period specified, the creditor may then use diligence to recover what is owed.
Charges issued can be broken down into the following categories
4.1Summary Warrant
From the information received from the officers of court, a total of 314,862 charges for payment were served in the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.
Of these, 254,906 were served in pursuit of the repayment of council tax and community charge under the summary warrant process which represents 81% of the total number of charges served during this period.
4.2 Other Summary Warrant
All other summary warrant action, which relates to summary warrant debt other than council tax and community charge accounted for 15,437 of the 314,682, which is equal to 5% of the total number of charges for payment served during this period.
4.3Non-Summary Warrant
There were 44,519 charges for payment served in pursuit of non-summary warrant debt in 2012-13 which is equal to 14% of all charges for payment served during this period.Chart 1 below summarises the above information.
Chart 1: Distribution of Charge for Payment Served by Warrant Type – 2012-13
Table 1 compares the total number of charges for payment served in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and shows there was an overall reduction of 7% in the year 2012-13. The number of charges for payment served in pursuit of the repayment of council tax and community charge only reduced by 1% in the year. However the total number under the other summary warrant action increased by 11%, while the number under the non-summary warrant action saw a 34% reduction in 2012-13.
Table 1: Charge for Payment Served by Warrant Type - 2011-12 and 2012-13
This information is also shown in chart 2.
Chart 2: Charge for Payment Served by Warrant Type - 2011-12 and 2012-13
4.4Charge for Payment by Sheriffdom
The number of charges for payment served can also be broken down by sheriffdom as is illustrated in chart 3. This has also been broken down into the type of warrants issued by sheriffdom.
* Please note that the Court of Session and other are listed as sheriffdoms: statistics held, do not confirm in which sherrifdomthese the Charge for Payments issued by these courts were served in.
Chart 3: Charge for Payment Served by Sheriffdom – 2012-13
This shows that with regards to summary warrant action for repayment of council tax and community charge, the greatest number of charges for payment were served in the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. This is also the case with regards to other summary warrant action. However in non-summary warrant actions, the largest number of charges were served in the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders.
Table 2 below lists the totals for all warrant types in both 2011-12 and 2012-13 as well as the percentage change between the two years. This shows that the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders saw a 30% reduction, while the sheriffdom of Grampian, Highlands and Islands saw an 18% reduction. However, there was a 16% increase in the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway.
* Please note that the Court of Session and other are listed as sheriffdoms: as the statistics held, do not confirm which sherrifdom that the Charge for Payments issued by these courts were served in.
Table 2: Charge for Payment Served by Sheriffdom (all Warrant Types) in 2011-12 and 2012-13
5.Diligences Executed by Warrant Type
5.1Summary Warrant
Based on the information received from the officers of court, a total of 377,957 diligences were executed in 2012-13. Of these, 337,692 were executed in pursuit of the repayment of council tax and community charge which represents 89% of all diligence carried out in this period.
Chart 4 showsthe total number of individual diligences actioned for each summary type.
Chart 4: Summary Warrant - Distribution of Diligence – 2012-13
This shows that non-earnings arrestment was the most commonly used diligence in relation to summary warrant debt, followed by earnings arrestment. The othertype of diligence that was carried out for this type of warrant was attachments, although the total number was low. This is a similar distribution to the previous year.
5.2Other Summary Warrant
Other summary warrant action, which relates to all summary warrant debt other than council tax and community charge, accounted for 9,605 of the total diligence carried out. This is equal to 3% of the total number of diligences executed and a breakdown is given in the following chart. As with Summary Warrant, non-earnings arrestment was the most common type of diligence used.
Chart 5: Other Summary Warrant - Distribution of Diligence – 2012-13
5.3Non-Summary Warrant
There were 30,660 diligences executed in pursuit of non-summary warrant debt in 2012-13 which is equal to 8% of all diligence executed during this year. A breakdown of the types of diligence carried out is shown in chart 6. Current maintenance arrestment and earnings arrestment were the most commonly used diligence for the collection of non-summary warrant debt. This was also the case in the previous year.
Chart 6: Non-Summary Warrant - Distribution of Diligence – 2012-13
5.4All Diligences by Warrant Type
Chart 7 shows the distribution of diligence by warrant type and as mentioned above, the majority (89%) of diligence actions were executed under the summary warrant procedure for council tax and community charge.
Chart 7: Distribution of all Diligences by Warrant Type – 2012-13
The above totals can also be compared with those from the previous year as in the table 3. This shows that the total number of diligence actions carried out decreased by 3% in 2012-13. However in terms of the different warrant types, diligence carried out in relation to other summary warrant saw a 22% increase, while for non-summary warrant, the total number decreased by 29%.
Table 3: All Diligence by Warrant Type - 2011-12 and 2012-13
5.5Most Commonly Used Diligence Across All Warrant Types
A total of 377,957 executions of diligence were recorded across all warrant types in 2012-13 and chart 8 provides a breakdown of the top 8 diligences across all warrant types.
Chart 8: Top 8 Diligences (all Warrant Types) – 2012-13
These figures can be compared with the equivalent totals recorded in 2011-12 as demonstrated in chart 9, where the top 7 diligences for all warrant types are compared.
Chart 9: Top 7 Diligences (all Warrant Types) – 2011-12 and 2012-13
This shows that the number of non-earnings arrestment decreased by 8% in 2012-13, while the number of earnings arrestment increased by 15%.
6.Diligence Executed by Sheriffdom
Sheriffdoms
There are 49 Sheriff Courts in Scotland which cover a particular Sheriff Court district. These districts are separated into 6 Sheriffdoms each comprising the various courts in its area. The information provided by the officers of court mean that the information can be broken down at this level.
6.1Summary Warrant
In 2012-13, 89% of all diligence was under the council tax and community charge summary warrant. Chart 10 shows the top 2 types of diligence executed under the summary warrant process by sheriffdom. These were non-earnings arrestment and earnings arrestment and the sheriffdoms of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway and Glasgow and Stathkelvin executed the highest number of this diligence.
Chart 10: Top 2 Diligences for Summary Warrant by Sheriffdom – 2012-13
6.2 Other Summary Warrant
Other summary warrant action, which relates to all summary warrant debt other than council tax and community charge, accounted for 3% of the diligence executed in 2012-13. Chart 11 demonstrates the top 4 types of diligence executed by sheriffdom under the other summary warrant process. The highest number of diligence was executed in the sheriffdoms of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway and Glasgow and Stathkelvin. The most common type of diligence carried out under the other summary warrant action was non-earnings arrestment.
Chart 11: Top 4 Diligences for Other Summary Warrant by Sheriffdom – 2012-13
6.3Non-Summary Warrant
Diligence executed under non-summary warrant action accounted for 8% of the total diligence carried out in 2012-13. Chart 12 shows the top 4 types of diligence executed by sheriffdom under the non-summary warrant process. This time, the highest number of diligence was executed in the sheriffdoms of Grampian, Highlands and Islands and Lothian and Borders, where current maintenance arrestments were the most common type of diligence under the non-summary warrant action.
Chart 12: Top 4 Diligences for Non-Summary Warrant by Sheriffdom – 2012-13
6.4All Diligences by Sheriffdom
Chart 13 details the top 10 diligences executed broken down by sheriffdom. This shows that the non-earnings arrestments and earnings arrestments, both under the summary warrant process accounted for the majority of all diligence executed in 2012-13.
* Please note that the Court of Session and other are listed as sheriffdoms: as the statistics held, do not confirm which sherrifdomthey were served in.
Chart 13: Top 10 Diligences (all Warrant Types) by Sheriffdom – 2012-13
The total number of diligence executed for all warrant types in 2012-13 can be compared with the equivalent figures from 2011-12, for all sheriffdoms as per table 4.
* Please note that the Court of Session and other are listed as sheriffdoms: as the statistics held, do not confirm which sherrifdomthey were served in.
Table 4: All Diligence by Sheriffdom (all Warrant Types) - 2011-12 and 2012-13
Although the overall total only decreased by 3% in 2012-13, some of the individual sheriffdoms had a higher percentage change. For example, the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders saw a 21% decrease in 2012-13, while the sheriffdom of North Strathclyde increased by almost a third.
7.Inhibition
The table below illustrates the statistical data relating to the diligence of inhibition in 2012-13 and the corresponding figures from 2011-12. This information was supplied by Registers of Scotland.
Table 5 shows that notices of inhibition decreased by 38% in 2012-13, to 948. There were a total of 5,121 schedules of inhibition in 2012-13, a decrease of 30% from theprevious year. However schedules of inhibition on the dependence more than doubled in 2012-213 to 949.
Table 5: Inhibition - 2011-12 and 2012-13
* Note that an inhibition does not provide a direct means of debt recovery. However it does prohibit a debtor from dealing with their heritable property after the inhibition takes effect, providing a safeguard to prevent the disposal of the assets.
8.Summaryof Findings
- The number of Charge For Payments (charges) served in 2012-13 reduced by 7% compared to those served in 2011-12 this is mostly due to a reduction in those served under non-summary warrant action. The vast majority of these,81% were for debts due to Local Authorities for Council tax and Community Charge debts.
- Charges served for other summary warrant debt other than Council Tax and Community Charges has increased by 11% since 2011-12.
- Non-summary warrant action has reduced by 34% since 2011-12.
- Charges served in Lothian and Borders Sheriffdom have decreased by 30% compared to 2011-12.
- There was a 16% increase in the number of Charges served in the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway compared to 2011-12.
- Non-earnings arrestment was the most commonly used diligence in relation to both summary warrant and other summary warrant debt. However current maintenance arrestments and earnings arrestments were the most commonly used diligence for the collection of non-summary warrant debt.
- There has been a 3% drop overall in diligence, although diligence relating to other summary warrant increased by 22%, while diligence relating to non-summary warrant decreased by 29%.
- Notices of inhibition decreased by 38% from the previous year.
- The number of Schedules of inhibition more than doubled in 2012-13.
Annex A
Types of Diligences
Attachment
Attachment allows a creditor to seize a debtor's moveable property as a means of recovering money owed. Unlike arrestment, which is used against property held by a third party, attachment can be used to seize property owned by the debtor and in their possession. Attachment cannot be used to seize goods in the debtor's dwellinghouse, unless an order for exceptional attachment been granted by the sheriff.
Diligence on the Dependence
Diligence on the dependence is a provisional measure which can be used to secure funds, goods or property to prevent the debtor from disposing of them whilst the action is ongoing. A creditor may, at any time while a court action is ongoing, apply to the court for authority to carry out arrestment or inhibition on the dependence of the action.
Earnings arrestment
Earnings arrestment is used to make a deduction from a debtor's earnings for enforcement of a single debt. A creditor must be in possession of a decree (or relevant document of debt) and must have issued the debtor with a Charge for Payment, which must have expired, before proceeding with diligence against earnings. However where the debt is being pursued by a Fines Enforcement Officer for an unpaid court fine, no Charge for Payment is required. Where the debtor is an individual, creditors, including Fines Enforcement Officers, must also have provided a Debt Advice and Information Package (DAIP).
Exceptional Attachment
There is a special procedure for the attachment of non-essential articles kept in a dwellinghouse. The procedure, known as exceptional attachment, can only be used in exceptional circumstances.
An exceptional attachment order authorises the attachment, removal and auction of non-essential assets belonging to the debtor and kept in a dwellinghouse. Before granting an order the sheriff will take a number of matters into consideration including the nature of the debt, whether the debtor resides in the dwellinghouse, whether they have had money advice and whether there is, or has been, any agreement between the debtor and creditor for the payment of the debt.
Inhibition
Inhibition is a diligence which prohibits a defender (or debtor) from dealing with his heritable property after the inhibition takes effect. Heritable property is land and other immoveable property (houses, commercial premises etc.) owned by the defender.
Inhibition is a personal diligence against the defender. While it is in place, it prevents the defender from selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of his property. It also prohibits the defender from securing any new loans against the property.
Inhibition can also be used when an action for the payment of debt is under consideration by the court but a decree has not yet been granted. This action is used to secure the debtor's property pending the outcome of the court action and is a form of diligence on the dependence.
A creditor must have a decree (or relevant document of debt) before proceeding with inhibition. A schedule of inhibition must be served on the debtor and, where the debtor is an individual and the action is in respect of debt, the creditor must also provide a Debt Advice and Information Package.