Business Secretary Vince Cable has outlined plans to give courts the power to make financial sanctions against company directors in corporate collapses.
Mr Cable made the announcement during a speech outlining proposals to reform the insolvency process.
Other changes announced included a register to identify a company’s ultimate owner, banning directors who have already been banned outside the UK from running a UK company and allowing courts to hand out fines to directors when serving a disqualification order.
Mr Cable is also hoping to persuade courts to consider any previous company failures when handing out a sanction.
In his proposals, set out in the launch of transparency and trust discussion papers by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Mr Cable is also seeking to extend the Insolvency Service’s disqualification powers to the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Business Secretary also plans to increase the time limit for bringing disqualification proceedings against directors from two to five years.
BIS has also announced a review into pre-pack administrations as part of its transparency plan. The review into the insolvency process is to determine whether they encourage growth, employment and provide value to creditors.
The transparency and trust paper can be downloaded from the government’s website, with interested parties having until 16th September 2013 to respond to the proposals.
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