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Section 391R: Direct sanctions direction instead of order

Insolvency Act 1986 · 1986 c. 45View on legislation.gov.uk

Part XIII: Insolvency Practitioners and their Qualification

The Secretary of State may give a direction (a "direct sanctions direction") in relation to a person acting as an insolvency practitioner to the relevant recognised professional body (instead of applying, or continuing with an application, for a direct sanctions order against the person) if the Secretary of State is satisfied that—

condition 1 and at least one of conditions 2, 3, 4 and 5 are met in relation to the person (see section 391Q), and
it is in the public interest for the direction to be given.

But the Secretary of State may not give a direct sanctions direction in relation to a person without that person's consent.

A direct sanctions direction may require the relevant recognised professional body to take all necessary steps to secure that—

the person is no longer authorised (whether fully or partially) to act as an insolvency practitioner;
the person is no longer fully authorised to act as an insolvency practitioner but remains partially authorised to act as such either in relation to companies or individuals, as specified in the direction;
the person's authorisation to act as an insolvency practitioner is suspended for the period specified in the direction or until such time as the requirements so specified are complied with;
the person must comply with such other requirements as may be specified in the direction while acting as an insolvency practitioner;
the person makes such contribution as may be specified in the direction to one or more creditors of a company, individual or insolvent partnership in relation to which the person is acting or has acted as an insolvency practitioner.

A direct sanctions direction must not be given in relation to a person whose authorisation to act as an insolvency practitioner was granted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland (see section 390A(2)(b)).

A direct sanctions direction must not specify a contribution as mentioned in subsection (3)(e) which is more than the remuneration that the person has received or will receive in respect of acting as an insolvency practitioner in the case.

In this section "relevant recognised professional body" has the same meaning as in section 391O.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.