Driving change: R3 early autumn update

11 October 2024

As summer shifts to autumn, the R3 teams have been busy working on a number of key projects and activities including meetings with stakeholders and standing committees, and work on a range of events and forums.

Building connections in Westminster

R3’s Policy and Public Affairs team has been busy since the Government returned from the summer break. The day after Parliament returned from recess, R3 CEO Caroline Sumner met with Heather Buchanan, Director of Policy and Strategy at the APPG for Fair Business Banking.

The meeting focused on several key topics including the upcoming Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, which aims to strengthen corporate governance and minimise corporate failures with the establishment of a new regulator. We understand that reforms to the insolvency profession could be included in this Bill, moving us towards firm regulation and strengthening the role of the Insolvency Service as oversight regulator.

The meeting also covered Companies House reforms, particularly around new data management systems aimed at improving transparency, and actions to tackle rising fraud issues like authorised push payment fraud.

Plans are currently underway to meet with the newly-appointed MP members of the APPG to further engage with the new Government around insolvency issues, and we also hope to attend some of the group’s upcoming round tables.

Forums for discussion

In September, we hosted two more successful regional forums, the Northern Forum on the 19^th of September and the Eastern Forum on the 26^th of September.

Attendees at the Northern Forum heard from a range of speakers that included staff from Gordon Brothers, the Bank of England and the Insolvency Service, while Eastern Forum delegates heard from representatives from a number of organisations that included the Insolvency Service, Christie & Co, and Exchange Chambers.

One particular highlight of the Northern Forum was the mock trial, which saw Begbies Traynor’s Andrew Little face a series of series of challenging forensic questions from Exchange Chambers’s Ben Lafferty and Graham Sellers, while one of the standout sessions from the Eastern Forum was Joseph Curl KC’s insights into his experience as counsel for the liquidators of BHS.

The Government’s plans unpicked

Delegates at both Forums heard from R3 CEO Caroline Sumner (and at the Northern Forum, Lyle Horne, R3's Policy and Public Affairs Officer) about the new Government's plans and their potential impact on the insolvency and restructuring profession, key upcoming Bills, R3’s efforts to establish connections with new key stakeholders including MPs, as well as a wider update on R3’s work on members’ behalf.

They also highlighted our ongoing work with public sector bodies and agencies like the Insolvency Service, and the potential for closer future collaboration with Companies House.

Programmes' progress

The Training Academy team have also been working on a number of upcoming events taking place this November. Details for the Personal Insolvency Forum, which will be hosted at the Wedlake Bell offices in London, are soon to be announced, with another fantastic programme of sessions planned for the day.

The programme for the 2024 Restructuring Forum was also finalised in September, and we arere particularly excited to hear from Joseph Curl KC about directors' duties in the wake of the landmark BHS case, as well as learning more about the current demand for Restructuring Plans and key considerations in solvent insolvencies.

The Training Academy has also re-launched the Introduction to Insolvency Certification, with the series refreshed and expanded for October 2024 to include the latest legislative updates and recent case law developments.

R3 in the media

In September, R3 Past President Nicky Fisher was quoted in a story in the Times discussing the recent rise in voluntary insolvency levels. Nicky’s comment highlighted that this increase has likely been influenced by the fact that winding up a company through the courts is both costly and time-consuming, with the costs for creditors rising in 2022.

Our comments on the July insolvency statistics for England and Wales featured in stories in a range of national, trade and regional publications, including the Guardian, and the I Paper, while our comments on the August statistics featured in publications including Credit Connect, the Yorkshire Post, and the Newcastle Journal.

Media interest in R3’s analysis of business trends data also remained popular over August and September, with stories highlighting a rise in overdue invoices in Scotland picking up coverage in Credit Connect, Scottish Financial News and Scottish Business News. News of a rise in start-ups in Northern Ireland also featured in publications including the Irish News, Business Eye and the Belfast Newsletter, while a story on a fall in insolvency-related activity in Yorkshire featured in Business Live, the Yorkshire Post and the Sheffield Star.