These Regulations make changes to certain figures relating to diligence against earnings in Part III of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (“the Act”).

Regulation 2(a) increases the figure in sections 53(2)(b) and 63(4)(b) of the Act, used to determine the sum to be deducted from earnings subject to a current maintenance arrestment or conjoined arrestment order, from £12 to £13.64.

Regulation 2(b) substitutes new Tables A, B and C for those in Schedule 2 to the Act which describe the deductions to be made from earnings subject to an earnings arrestment.

These new figures reflect the median earnings in the Office for National Statistics’ 2008 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, which have increased since the figures were last amended in 2006 by the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The Survey is available on the website of the Office for National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk.

In accordance with sections 53(4) and (5), 63(7) and (8) and 69(1) and (2) of the Act, these Regulations do not apply to existing diligences until the Regulations are intimated to employers, unless employers choose to apply them. If they do not choose to do so the figures substituted by the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 will continue to apply until intimation takes place.