A recently published study by Prof. Dr. Andreas Rein of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (HWG LU) together with Caro Berndt, a debtor and insolvency consultant from Ludwigshafen, on the transfer of insolvency consulting from the state to the municipalities met with great interest on the part of the SPD parliamentary group in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament. The two researchers presented the results of this research project, which is sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, at a technical discussion on Tuesday.
Ludwigshafen am Rhein, 22.06.2023: On June 20, 2023, Prof. Dr. Andreas Rein from the HWG Ludwigshafen and the debtor and insolvency counselor at the Diakonisches Werk Pfalz, Caro Berndt, presented their research project on the transfer of insolvency counseling to municipalities as part of a technical discussion before the SPD state parliamentary group in the NRW state parliament. The background to this is that the state of NRW is planning to transfer insolvency counseling, for which the state has been responsible up to now, to the municipalities - similar to the approach already practiced in Bavaria, which the author duo examined in more detail in their research project: As part of the study, which was supported by the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Andreas Rein and Caro Berndt used several qualitative interviews to examine the advantages and disadvantages of transferring insolvency counseling in Bavaria, found it to be good in principle and, in a second step, examined the possibility of transferring this model to other German states.
The discussion in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament was attended by Inge Blask MdL, the SPD state parliamentary group's commissioner for consumer protection, and other speakers from the SPD state parliamentary group, as well as representatives of various associations (Petra Köpping, working group of the umbrella organizations of the voluntary welfare services of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Roman Schlag as spokesman for the working group of the associations' debt counseling services, and Petra Wellmann, head of the credit and debt relief group at the NRW consumer center). The consumer policy spokeswoman of the SPD parliamentary group, member of the Bundestag Nadine Heselhaus, was also present via zoom.
Andreas Rein and Caro Berndt first presented their study and then answered numerous questions during a lively discussion. Subsequently, MdB Nadine Heselhaus presented the status of the debate on the reform of debtor and insolvency counseling at the federal level - after all, the traffic light parties have committed themselves in the coalition agreement to a further expansion of debtor and insolvency counseling. Here Nadine Heselhaus explained in particular the problems with the anchorage of a free right to debtor consultation for all in the social law book XII, as this is demanded in particular by the working group of the debtor consultation of the federations. Finally Inge Blask MdL gave the current conditions regarding the transfer of the insolvency consultation to the municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The study for download at: https://www.fes.de/abteilung-analyse-planung-und-beratung/artikelseite-apb/uebertragung-der-insolvenzberatung-auf-kommunen
Technical contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences
Department of Social and Health Services
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rein
Chair of Social Services Law
Tel. 0621/5203-534
E-mail: andreas.rein@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
