Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001


The Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament to abolish the previous practice in which a debtor’s goods are priced in preparation for the enforced sale of the debtor’s possessions. The legislation was introduced in 1999 as a member's bill by Tommy Sheridan MSP, the sole member of the Scottish Socialist Party in the Parliament.
The original draft of the bill proposed that it would have immediate effect, but this was subsequently amended to delay implementation of the bill until 2002, so that alternative means of debt recovery could be devised. The Scottish Executive eventually proposed the Debt Arrangement and Attachment Bill, which became the Debt Arrangement and Attachment Bill Act 2002 and repealed the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act.
The Debt Arrangement and Attachment Act was criticised by Sheridan for introducing "a new form of warrant sales".