1. Information is gathered

An AMHP will fill in a referral form for the mental health crisis breathing space scheme. They will ask you for permission to share your confidential personal information, including information about your problem debts.

All referrals to the scheme need to include a supporting statement by an AMHP. The supporting statement must confirm that you are receiving treatment for a mental health crisis.

The AMHP will need to identify a ‘nominated point of contact’ for you. This must be a social care or healthcare professional who is supporting you. Once your mental health crisis breathing space has started, the debt advice provider will contact your nominated point of contact. They will check that you are still receiving treatment for your mental health crisis and find out when the treatment will end.

Any information you can give about the type of debts you have will be helpful and can be included in the referral form. This may include, for example, details of how much your household bills are and any payments you have missed on any credit agreements.

If any of your debts are in joint names, the other person named on the agreement will also be protected against enforcement action by your creditors.

When they have all the information they need, the AMHP will fill in the referral form. The AMHP cannot submit the form without your permission.

The AMHP will give you and your nominated point of contact a copy of the referral form that has been submitted.

2. The debt advice provider carries out checks

The debt advice provider will check that you are eligible for a mental health crisis breathing space, and that you have given permission for your information to be shared.

They will also check that you have at least one qualifying debt. You may, for example, have outstanding personal loans or owe money on your utility bills (gas, electricity and water bills) or on credit cards. Government debts, such as tax and benefit overpayments, also qualify. The debt advice provider will check to see if you have listed any debts that are not allowed, for example, child maintenance payments or court fines.

The debt advice provider will carry out a credit check for you. This credit check will not affect your credit rating. They may contact your creditors to get more information about certain debts.

The debt advice provider will also contact you to tell you what they are doing on your behalf, and to tell you how they will protect your personal information.

3. The debt advice provider contacts

The debt advice provider will contact the Government’s Insolvency Service on your behalf.  The Insolvency Service supports those in financial difficulties.

The Insolvency Service will update its private register to show that you have applied for a mental health breathing space. The register is not published, and is only available to creditors and debt advice providers.

The Insolvency Service will tell your creditors and your nominated point of contact about your mental health crisis breathing space. If you are already covered by an individual voluntary arrangement through the Insolvency Service, or by a debt relief order, or have been declared bankrupt by a court, you will not be able to apply for a mental health crisis breathing space.

4. Your mental health crisis
breathing space starts

The day after your creditors receive notification from the Insolvency
Service about your mental health breathing space, they must stop:
• any enforcement action;
• contacting you about your debts; and
• most interest, fees and charges on any debts you have with them.

The debt advice provider will check in with your nominated point of contact every 20 to 30 days. If you are still receiving treatment for your mental health crisis, your mental health crisis breathing space will continue to the next check-in date.

5. Your mental health crisis breathing space ends

Your nominated point of contact must tell the debt advice provider the date your treatment ends. Your mental health crisis breathing space will end 30 days later.

If the debt advice provider cannot get in touch with your nominated point of contact, they will assume you are no longer receiving treatment for your mental health crisis. Your mental health crisis breathing space will end 30 days from the date the debt advice provider failed to get a response from your nominated point of contact.

6. What happens after my breathing space ends?

The debt advice provider will contact you to offer any further advice and support you may need to help manage your debts. You may, for example, be eligible for support from another scheme. These organisations cannot help you without having access to your personal information. Please note, you can only be in one scheme at a time.

The Insolvency Service will delete your details from its private register 15 months after the end of your mental health crisis breathing space.