Diligence
Section 22: Bank arrestments: protected minimum balance
86.This section of this Act relates to the sum that is protected in an individual’s bank account when a bank arrestment is executed under the law on diligence for a debt owed. This is known as the protected minimum balance and previously, under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, had been linked to the monthly threshold for earnings arrestment, which is a different type of diligence.
87.Section 73F of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 is amended to de-couple the arrangements for fixing the protected minimum balance from the provisions that set the minimum monthly salary limits for earning arrestments. The protected minimum balance for bank arrestments is raised to £1,000, and a power is provided for the Scottish Ministers to amend the protected minimum balance in the future through negative procedure regulations. However, the new law has no effect in relation to an arrestment executed before the commencement date of 1 November 2022 (see section 59 for commencement arrangements).
Section 23: Period of moratorium on diligence
88.This section increases the length of the moratorium against diligence created by sections 195 to 198 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, from a period of 6 weeks to 6 months. Subsection (3) makes a consequential change to the arrangements for those in a moratorium who then enter a protected trust deed, allowing the moratorium to remain in place beyond 6 months for a further 7 weeks, in order to allow sufficient time for the registration of protected status
Section 24: Power to amend period of moratorium on diligence
89.This section adds to the amendment of section 198 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 effected by section 23 by providing the Scottish Ministers with a power to amend the period of the moratorium against diligence through affirmative procedure regulations.
