Debt Advice and Information Package required for diligence on the dependence warrants

Creditors in Scotland must provide a Debt Advice and Information Package before applying for a warrant for diligence on the dependence, under a change taking effect on 20 January 2025¹. The requirement applies where a creditor intends to apply for such a warrant¹.

Diligence is the technical term for enforcement in Scottish law, described as the steps a creditor can take to get their money back after they have taken court action¹. In most cases there are seven main forms of diligence which could be used against a debtor, including bank arrestment and action of furthcoming, earnings arrestment, attachment of property outside the home, attachment of money, an application to the sheriff court for an exceptional attachment order, an inhibition on the sale of a house and any land or business premises owned, and diligence on the dependence¹.

The Debt Advice and Information Package is already required at other stages of enforcement. A creditor must send one no earlier than 12 weeks before serving an earnings arrestment, and must serve one no earlier than 12 weeks before taking steps to carry out an attachment¹. The package has to be in the form set by the Scottish Government, explains rights and gives details of how to get advice; if it is not sent, any earnings arrestment will be illegal¹.

Diligence on the dependence is one of the seven main forms of diligence listed in the guidance¹. The guidance does not set out the full procedure for applying for a warrant for diligence on the dependence, and no further detail on how the new requirement will operate in practice has been reported¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects people in Scotland who owe money and face court action, where a creditor is seeking a warrant for diligence on the dependence. From 20 January 2025, the package must be provided before that application is made¹. The package sets out rights and how to get advice¹.

Other protections described in the guidance are unchanged by this development. A charge for payment is a formal written request to pay a debt within a set period, usually 14 days, and in most situations a creditor cannot enforce payment using diligence until the charge has been served and its time limit has run out¹. For bank arrestment, a minimum of £1,000 must be left free, known as the protected minimum balance, though this does not apply to business accounts¹. If a creditor does not raise a forthcoming action and no money is released by agreement, arrested funds are automatically released after 14 weeks¹. Where there is a joint account, the bank will usually freeze the full amount apart from the protected minimum balance, but the £1,000 protected minimum balance only applies to one of the accounts¹.

The guidance also notes that from 28 November 2016 most debts of £5,000 or less are recovered using the simple procedure¹. A time to pay order may be available where diligence is based on a summary warrant for council tax arrears, or a sheriff court decree for a debt of more than £5,000 but less than £25,000¹. It cannot be applied for in relation to awards in connection with divorce actions, maintenance orders made by a court, or arrears of income tax, VAT or car tax¹. Under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, once an intimation is on the register the debtor is protected against creditor action for six weeks, and joining a debt payment programme freezes interest, fees and charges¹.

What happens next

The requirement took effect on 20 January 2025¹. No further dates have been reported¹.

Households in Scotland facing enforcement can read the site's guide to diligence in Scotland, arrestment and sheriff officers, and the wider debt guide to help, solutions and rights.