Accountant in Bankruptcy - Bankruptcy Restrictions Orders: FOI release

Information requested

1. How many Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO) investigation applications containing a section 56B(2)(e) were processed through the AiB's Standard Operating Procedure (Bankruptcy Restriction Orders & Undertakings), covering the period : 1st April 2008 to 25th November 2013?

2. How many Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO) investigation applications containing a section 56B(2)(e) were processed through the AiB's Standard Operating Procedure (Bankruptcy Restriction Orders & Undertakings), covering the period : 26th November 2013 to the present day?

3. How many BRO investigation applications received from the Chartered Accountants Henderson Loggie contained a section 56B(2)(e) and how many were processed through the AiB's Standard Operating Procedure (Bankruptcy Restriction Orders & Undertakings) covering the period : 1st April 2008 to 25th November 2013? 

4. Covering the period 1st April 2008 to 25th November 2013, how many BRO investigation applications containing a section 56B(2)(n), were received by the AiB and how many were processed through the Standard Operating Procedure (Bankruptcy Restriction Orders & Undertakings)?

5. Covering the period 1st April 2008 to 25th November 2013, how many BRO investigation applications containing a section 56B(2)(m), were received by the AiB and how many were processed through the Standard Operating Procedure (Bankruptcy Restriction Orders & Undertakings)?  

6. How many BRO applications were submitted to court by the AiB covering the period 1st April 2008 to 25th November 2013 and how many were defended?

7. How many BRO applications have been submitted to court by the AiB covering the period 26th November 2013 to the present day and how many have been defended?

8. Covering fiscal years 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, how many AiB employees were allocated on a full time basis to the processing of FOISA requests?

9. Covering fiscal years 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, how many AiB employees were allocated on a full time basis to the processing of Data Subject Access Requests?

Response

1. to 5. An exemption under section 26(a) of FOISA (disclosure prohibited by an enactment) applies to all of the information requested because section 3(4) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, as amended, and section 50(4) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 prohibits the disclosure of this information as the application is absolutely privileged. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. 

However, I can confirm all Bankruptcy Investigation applications are processed using the Standard Operating Procedure.

6. Number of applications submitted to court 01/04/08 to 25/11/13 = 26 

Number defended = 6

7. Number of applications submitted to court 26/11/13 to present = 226 

Number defended = 10

Information for questions 6 and 7 was extracted from individual interlocutors, where the information was provided by the court. 

8. No AiB employee has been allocated on a full time basis to the processing of FOISA requests during the period you requested. Responding to requests is undertaken in conjunction with other duties. From April 2020 to January 2023 cases were allocated to a member of staff who had responsibility for the information requested. From February 2023 cases are allocated to the Compliance Team to respond, with the information being provided by the team responsible for the information requested.

9. No AiB employee has been allocated on a full time basis to the processing of Data Subject Access requests during the period you requested. Responding to requests is undertaken in conjunction with other duties by the Compliance Team. 

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