Corporate Civil Enforcement Reforms Consultation
Summary
The UK Insolvency Service has launched a consultation on reforming the corporate civil enforcement regime, seeking views on 11 options broadly categorized into structural reforms, information gathering powers, and procedural changes. The reforms aim to modernize director disqualification processes, introduce tailored restrictions for directors, and shift defended cases from courts to a tribunal model. The consultation applies to England, Scotland and Wales and closes at 11:59pm on 17 June 2026.
What changed
The Government is consulting on options to modernise the corporate civil enforcement regime, which has been in place for nearly 40 years. The 11 options fall into three categories: structural reforms (introducing tailored director restrictions, faster bans for public interest liquidations, tribunal-based proceedings), information gathering powers, and procedural changes to director disqualification processes.
Affected parties including directors, companies, insolvency practitioners, and legal professionals should monitor this consultation closely as responses will inform future reforms to enforcement tools. The changes could significantly alter how corporate misconduct is investigated and punished, particularly for director disqualification proceedings.
What to do next
- Respond to the consultation by 17 June 2026
- Submit views via online survey, email, or post to the Civil Enforcement Consultation Team
Archived snapshot
Apr 15, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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Corporate Civil Enforcement Reforms
From: The Insolvency Service and Blair McDougall MP Published 25 March 2026 Last updated 13 April 2026
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Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Summary
The consultation seeks views on options to reform the corporate civil enforcement regime.
This consultation closes at
**
11:59pm on 17 June 2026
**
Consultation description
The Government is consulting on a range of options that would modernise the corporate civil enforcement regime administered by the Insolvency Service and add new flexibilities for dealing with varying degrees of misconduct. The current regime has been in place for nearly 40 years and whilst additions have been made since its introduction, the Government is of the view that now is the right time to consider changes to strengthen the regime, ensuring effective and efficient tools are available to tackle corporate wrongdoing today and into the future.
There are 11 options set out in the consultation which broadly fit into 3 categories:
- Structural Reforms- These proposals seek to accelerate enforcement processes, speeding up the removal of individuals responsible for corporate abuse, and strengthening protections for the public and the wider marketplace. Options include introducing tailored restrictions for directors (as opposed to outright bans) when misconduct is due to ignorance rather than an intent to commit wrongdoing; a faster process to ban directors from the marketplace where companies have been liquidated on public interest grounds due to causing harm and; updating and simplifying disqualification proceedings, by shifting defended cases from the courts to a tribunal model.
- Information Gathering Powers - Strengthening the Government’s powers to seek and gather information necessary to support effective and efficient investigations into corporate abuse.
- Procedural Changes - Improving and modernising the current procedure for director disqualification. Making the processes more efficient and ensuring fairness and clarity for all parties. The Government believes that the corporate civil enforcement framework requires reform in order to continue to meet its objective of protecting the integrity of our markets within the modern business environment, in turn making the regime more effective and efficient, whilst remaining fair. The nature and scale of such reform will be informed by responses to this consultation.
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Corporate Civil Enforcement Reforms Consultation
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Corporate Civil Enforcement Reforms consultation
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Ways to respond
or
Email to:
enforcement.reform@insolvency.gov.uk
Write to:
Civil Enforcement Consultation Team
Insolvency Service
Floor 16
1 Westfield Avenue
Stratford
London
E20 1HZ
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Updates to this page
Published 25 March 2026 Last updated 13 April 2026 show all updates
1.
13 April 2026
Change of closing date/time to 11:59pm 17 June 2026
2.
25 March 2026
First published.
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