Colin Naylor, Co-Chairman of CIVEA (the Civil Enforcement Association) and Managing Director of Dukes Bailiffs, has welcomed the publication of the updated National Standards, but says the public should be aware these are the industry's own standards, not something simply being imposed by Government.

"All the signatories to these standards are members of CIVEA and already committed to the practices and standards contained in this document" he says. "It's most welcome that the Ministry of Justice has been the catalyst for formalising and publishing the guidelines because this gives them substantial additional weight, however, it would be wrong to suppose that they have been imposed on the industry by Government".

He goes on to point out that CIVEA and most of its members already publish similar creeds of professional behaviour, against a difficult set of market conditions which include more demanding contracts particularly in the public sector, a largely sceptical media environment and a small but significant nucleus of committed and often serial debt "evaders" who will do anything but pay up.

"Neither bailiffs nor their clients are interested in pursuing people who haven't the means to pay and may well have fallen into debt through unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances", he comments, pointing out that, quite apart from any ethical issues, there is no practical value in chasing that which doesn't exist.