Consultation now open: Changes to Statement of Insolvency Practice 14 – we need your views!
12 June 2025
The Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC), of which the IPA is a member, is consulting on changes to Statement of Insolvency Practice (SIP) 14 (A Receiver’s Responsibility to Preferential Creditors).
SIP 14 was last updated in 1999, and since that time, there have been considerable changes in insolvency legislation and practice. These changes have transformed not only receiverships, rendering administrative receivership almost redundant, but also the nature of preferential creditors, first with the removal of Crown preference in 2003 and then, to an extent, its restoration, in the form of secondary preferential status for certain HMRC claims, in 2020.
Consequently, whilst SIP 14 had largely fallen into disuse, the JIC decided that the SIP should be updated not only to reflect the most recent legislative changes to the status of preferential creditors but also renamed to clarify that it applies to all types of insolvency appointment, not just receiverships. The proposed updates are also intended to harmonise the SIP in all of the jurisdictions.
A working group of the Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC) was therefore established to review SIP 14. The working group was comprised of insolvency professionals, representatives of the RPBs, a leading academic and HMRC.
The principal changes to the SIP proposed are:
- Revisions to clarify that the scope of the SIP covered all types of insolvency appointment, not just Administrative Receivers
- Revised opening paragraphs and introduction
- Inclusion of a table of contents
- Introduction of the modern structure of a SIP including sections for Principles, Key Compliance Standards and Provisions of General Application
- Removal of the summaries of statutory provisions
- Rewording to include Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Working Group proposed a revised SIP 14 and the JIC has approved its circulation to the profession and other stakeholders for consultation.
A copy of the proposed revised SIP is attached at the bottom of this message together with a comparison with the version of the SIP currently in force.
The consultation has commenced today and will be open for a period of twelve weeks, closing on 5 September 2025.
The JIC recognises that whilst these are extensive modifications, they are, however, only proposed changes. There is no intention to amend the SIP without careful consideration of the responses received, and any plan to introduce changes will take into account any continuing challenges faced by the insolvency profession.
The JIC is now seeking your views on the proposed changes to SIP 14 and there is an opportunity in the consultation questionnaire to suggest other changes to SIP 14.
The Proposed revised SIP 14 will apply in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and will replace the individual SIP 14s which apply in each jurisdiction.
Please return your completed questionnaire to Rowan Duffin Jones, Senior Regulation Officer, at rowand@ipa.uk.com.
Download the proposed revised SIP