Commentary on Sections Summary Insolvency events Section 121: Insolvency event, insolvency date and insolvency practitioner
383.This section defines an insolvency event and sets out when an insolvency event occurs in relation to an individual, a company and a partnership. These events trigger the involvement of the Board with an occupational pension scheme.
384.Subsection (5) enables regulations to be made prescribing additional events that are to be treated as insolvency events. These regulations may, for example, apply to insolvency proceedings occurring in respect of organisations (such as Banks, building societies and limited liability partnerships) that are not included as insolvency events (as defined).
385.Subsection (7) gives the Secretary of State a regulation making power to make amendments to subsection (4)(e) to deal with insolvent partnerships if the new administration regime introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002 is, in future, applied to partnerships under section 240 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
386.Subsection (8) defines the meaning of ‘insolvency date’ as the date on which the insolvency event occurs.
387.Subsection (9) defines “insolvency practitioner” to include those persons within section 388 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (meaning of “act as an insolvency practitioner”). It also enables regulations to provide that specific individuals may also be regarded as an insolvency practitioner in specific circumstances. This could for example be used in respect of deeds of arrangement or schemes of arrangement under the Companies Act 1985, if these were ever prescribed as an insolvency event. This is because these schemes or deeds may not involve an “insolvency practitioner” within the meaning of section 388 of the Insolvency Act 1986:
	deeds of arrangement are very rare and it is unlikely the Board will encounter schemes whose employers are subject to these arrangements.
	schemes of arrangements are more common in terms of numbers. These are not dealt with under the Insolvency Act 1986. They are dealt with under the Companies Act 1985 and an “insolvency practitioner” within the meaning of section 388 of that Act is not involved in these cases.