Equita
(asked on 17th March 2017) - View Source
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public contracts have been awarded to Equita for debt collection services in each of the last five years.
Since 2011/12, £1,468,660 has been spent between Central Government bodies and Equita. The departmental breakdown is as follows:
Department | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
| Spend | Spend | Spend | Spend | Spend |
HM Revenue and Customs |
|
| £167,243 | £854,917 | £406,224 |
Department for Communities and Local Government |
|
| £279 |
| £4,335 |
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills |
| £2,498 |
| £4,015 | £11,375 |
Department of Health |
| £10,184 |
|
|
|
Ministry of Justice |
|
|
|
| £1,752 |
Ministry of Defence | £2,133 |
|
|
|
|
Department of Energy and Climate Change |
|
| £1,649 |
|
|
Department for Education |
| £1,460 |
|
|
|
Home Office | £480 |
|
|
|
|
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
|
|
| £115 |
|
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
The Government is clear that aggressive enforcement action is not acceptable. In April 2014 reforms were introduced to deliver protections from aggressive bailiff behaviour. The reforms introduced a simple set of rules which detail, amongst other things, what goods an enforcement agent can and cannot take, how and when they can enter premises and what fees they can charge.
The Government believes the package of reforms introduced in April 2014 provided essential protection to debtors from the aggressive pursuit of their debt whilst balancing the need for effective enforcement and the rights of creditors.