Mental Health Moratorium

Background

The introduction of a Mental Health Moratorium in Scotland, which will provide special protections from debt enforcement for those individuals with serious mental health conditions, has received broad support from stakeholders. The Social Justice and Social Security Committee also recommended this in their report Robbing Peter to pay Paul: Low income and the debt trap.

Previous consultations

In the Bankruptcy and debt advice review: consultation published in November 2019, 89% of respondents believed the Scottish Government should consider a separate moratorium for those receiving mental health crisis care.

In a further consultation Scotland’s statutory debt solutions and diligence – policy review response published in August 2022, 93% of respondents agreed with the proposal to collaborate with mental health and debt specialists in developing the detail of a Mental Health Moratorium.

The working group

As a result, a working group was formed in January 2023 to deliberate on how a Mental Health Moratorium could operate in Scotland. The group, which comprises of relevant sector experts, considered and discussed various aspects of a Mental Health Moratorium. This work resulted in the report of recommendations below.