About Us

The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). The Service, which comprises over 3,000 staff in 37 locations across the country.

The Service’s primary function is to administer and investigate the affairs of bankrupts, companies, and partnerships wound up by the court and establish the reasons why they became insolvent. Within this role The Service will look to realise any available assets in the estate for the benefit of creditors and take appropriate and proportionate enforcement action against bankrupts or company directors who are found to be blameworthy, reckless or dishonest in some way in order to maintain consumer confidence in the UK credit based economy.

The Service can conduct confidential fact finding investigations into the affairs of live companies, which are not subject to any form of insolvency where it is deemed to be in the public interest to do so and is also responsible for assessing and making statutory redundancy entitlement payments from the National Insurance fund to employees of companies or businesses who cannot or will not pay them.

The Service currently faces considerable change and challenge as well as the possibility of signficant growth in demand for its services in the future. As a result, the need for effective planning and reporting is paramount.