External Affairs update: May 2024

17 June 2024

Three weeks into May, R3’s External Affairs team’s plans were revised following the announcement that the General Election would be held in July – and monitoring the campaign, hosting a round table event, a trip to Westminster, and continued work on collating R3’s key policy priorities meant another jam-packed month for our team.

Eyes on the Election

R3’s Public Affairs team have been keeping a close eye on the General Election campaign following the Prime Minister’s announcement that it will take place on 4th July.

The team has been monitoring announcements, debates and press conferences following the news to learn more about each party’s pledges, and identify any potential policies which may affect the profession and the environment in which it operates

We’ve also been working with a number of R3’s core committees to identify the profession’s priorities for the new Government, and the results of this work will form the foundation of R3’s parliamentary engagement in the first sitting of the new Parliament.  

Meeting the (then) Business Minister

R3 CEO Caroline Sumner met two high-profile parliamentarians at the launch of the APPG for Fair Business Banking's new SME Manifesto on May 20^th, which was also attended by members of R3’s External Affairs Team.  

Caroline spoke with Kevin Hollinrake MP, who at the time was the Business Minister, as well as the then Shadow Investment and Small Business Minister Rushanara Ali – discussions which opened up the dialogue between R3 and two key political figures just before the General Election.

More widely, the event was a valuable opportunity to hear the Group’s policy proposals for the small business sector, which aim to enhance access to finance, streamline regulatory frameworks, and ensure fair treatment for SMEs.

Bringing public sector stakeholders together

In mid-May, R3 hosted its first-ever Public Sector Faculty roundtable, an event which aimed to promote closer collaboration between the insolvency profession and public sector bodies.

The round table was attended by a diverse range of stakeholders, including representatives from Companies House, the City of London Police, National Trading Standards, HMRC, along with insolvency practitioners from a variety of firms, and focused on how insolvency practitioners and public sector bodies can better work together to combat misconduct, recover assets, and hold responsible parties accountable while protecting legitimate businesses.

The discussion covered topics that included phoenix companies, director disqualification, and fraud. One takeaway was the critical importance of improved data sharing between government agencies and departments, with a consensus that establishing a single hub for public sector agencies to share contacts and report suspected fraud could significantly enhance efficiency and effectiveness in tackling economic crime.

We are hoping to host another event later in the year to build on the success of this roundtable, and plan to invite a range of other stakeholders – including some from local government.

R3 in the media

News that the insolvency Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, a joint initiative between R3 and the Insolvency Service, published its Action Plan for 2024 was featured in a number of trade outlets, including Accountancy Today, Insolvency Insider, and the Accountant.

Our comments on the April insolvency statistics were also quoted in several stories in the national media, including a piece on the corporate insolvency figures in the i, and a number of articles on the personal insolvency statistics including the Daily Express, the Evening Standard, the Independent, the Herald, as well as pieces in more than 140 regional titles.

And towards the end of the month, news of the story that insolvency practitioner Dave Broadbent, has taken over as Chair of R3 in the Yorkshire region was covered by a number of regional publications including the Yorkshire Post, the Yorkshire Times, and Insider Media.