Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [HL]

When we were looking at whether we should do that, we were mindful of the various circumstances in which people can find themselves. In some circumstance it might be appropriate to secure the judgment, not the debt because of concerns that that would be an important thing to do. It is not a question of holding something over someone’s head but of going to the court and asking if one can do that. I tried to spell it out in my letter to the noble Lord by saying that if a debtor with large judgment debts is meeting regular payments, he can benefit from the sale of assets such as a house or shares without paying off those debts. On the creditor’s side, where someone is paying regularly but has large assets, that fact could be recognised in a charging order. But the decision to use the charging order rests with the judiciary, which provides safety and security. I have already indicated what will be done within regulations. I suggest that I set this out more fully and then the noble Lord will have a chance to see whether I have met all his concerns and whether he feels that the Bill is explanatory enough to deal with these issues. If not, I will of course look at it again.