MP's Questions

Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)

My hon. Friend makes an important point. One of the strands of the review is to look at the behaviour of creditors who continue to add interest to debts where there is already a debt management plan. She is right to raise the concerns of NACAB and others, and we will listen carefully to what they say. I hope that she and anyone else in the House who has such examples will bring them forward to us before the review closes on 18 December.

Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield, Labour)

Will my hon. Friend also look at the rates that solicitors and insolvency experts charge the unfortunate small businesses and people who get into debt, then charging exorbitant fees on the pretext of helping them?

Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)

Again, I endorse what my hon. Friend says. All those issues will be part of the review, and I hope that it will come up with some solutions and a way forward in the near future.