Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will establish an inquiry into the use of Individual Voluntary Agreements as a means of exploiting low-income and vulnerable consumers.

Individual voluntary arrangements, used appropriately, are a very useful tool for helping people to deal with problem debt and there are no current plans to review their use. However, Government has recently consulted on the implementation of a “breathing space” scheme, which aims to give people legal protection from creditor action while they seek debt advice from an independent, approved debt adviser about their options. This will help to ensure that an individual in problem debt can enter a debt solution most appropriate for their circumstances. The Government’s response to this consultation will be published in due course.