Legislative webpages that relate to the changes are listed below:

• The Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (England and Wales) Rules 2016
• The Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (Scotland) Rules 2016
• The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2016
• Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
• Deregulation Act 2015

Conduct reports in insolvency procedures which commenced after 6 April 2016 – these need to be submitted under the relevant legislation. They must be submitted within 3 months of the office holder’s appointment, via the online reporting portal.

Conduct reports and returns due in respect of procedures commenced before 6 April 2016 – these continue to require the submission of a D1 or D2 form. Please see the transitional provisions in the legislation above for full details of the application of the regime.

The reporting system was proposed to reduce the burden on office holders to supply information and introduce efficiencies in the process. Conduct reports have continued to be based upon information coming to light in the ordinary course of the office holder’s work.

The process for conduct reporting meant that changes had to be made to SIP 2 (investigations by office holders in administrations and insolvent liquidations) and SIP 4 (disqualification of directors).

Statement of Insolvency Practice 2 (SIP 2)

The extent of the office holder’s investigations was set out in SIP 2 (investigations by office holders in administrations and insolvent liquidations). To reflect this and to assist practitioners by reducing the number of SIPs, the Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC) revised SIP 2 to reflect the conduct reporting obligations, instead of producing a separate revision of SIP 4.

The revised SIP 2, renamed "Investigations by office holders in administrations and insolvent liquidations and the submission of conduct reports by office holders", had been developed by a JIC working group. The group was comprised of members from the profession (from firms of different sizes) and creditor representatives. It did not seek to impose additional regulatory burdens upon practitioners. Given the timing of the proposed legislative provisions, the JIC, in agreement with the recognised professional bodies, concluded it was appropriate to issue the revision of SIP 2 without prior public consultation.

The resulting SIP 2 came into effect on 6 April 2016, for cases started after that date. This SIP applies UK wide, across all jurisdictions.

Statement of Insolvency Practice 4 (SIP 4)

SIP 4, titled "Disqualification of directors", was no longer relevant / appropriate for cases to which the legislative provisions applied – hence, SIP 4 was discontinued. It would only continue to apply to cases to which the legislation applies.