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Proposed changes to SIP 14: A Receiver’s Responsibility to Preferential Creditors

Published: 11 Jun 2025 Update History

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Following a review, the Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC) has decided that Statement of Insolvency Practice 14 should be updated not only to reflect the introduction of HMRC’s secondary preferential status in 2020 but also extended to apply to all types of insolvency appointment, not just receiverships and to apply in all of the jurisdictions.
Proposed changes to SIP 14: A Receiver’s Responsibility to Preferential Creditors

This consultation closed on 5 September 2025.

Background

SIP 14 was last updated in 1999, and since that time, there have been considerable changes in insolvency legislation and practice. These changes have transformed not only receiverships, rendering administrative receivership almost redundant, but also the nature of preferential creditors, first with the removal of Crown preference in 2003 and then, to an extent, its restoration, in the form of secondary preferential status for certain HMRC claims, in 2020.

A working group of the JIC was therefore established to review SIP 14. The working group was comprised of insolvency professionals, representatives of the recognised professional bodies, a leading academic and HMRC.

Proposed changes to SIP 14

The principal changes proposed are:

  1. Revisions to clarify that the scope of the SIP covered all types of insolvency appointment, not just Administrative Receivers
  2. Revised opening paragraphs and introduction
  3. Inclusion of a table of contents
  4. Introduction of the modern structure of a SIP including sections for Principles, Key Compliance Standards and Provisions of General Application
  5. Removal of the summaries of statutory provisions
  6. Rewording to include Scotland and Northern Ireland

You can see the full details of the proposed changes below:

Timeline

The consultation was opened for a period of twelve weeks, it closed on 5 September 2025.

Next steps

The JIC is grateful for your consultation responses and is now considering the feedback it has received. There is no intention to amend the SIP without careful consideration of the responses received and any plan to introduce changes will take into account any continuing challenges faced by the insolvency profession. More information will be published once any proposed changes are finalised including any amendments that have been made as a result of your comments.

The proposed revised SIP 14 will apply in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and will replace the individual SIP 14s which apply in each jurisdiction.