Via the High Court Enforcement Officers Association, comes sight of a letter from the Lord Chancellor to the HCEOA requesting that no evictions are carried out:
a) where Tier 2 or Tier 3 restrictions are in place, and
b) during the 11 December 2020 to 11 January 2021 period (with exceptions to be notified)
The letter is below, and apparently a similar letter was sent to the county court bailiffs.
The HCEOA members have apparently agreed to this. It appears that the county court bailiffs have likewise. In practical terms, this would mean no evictions to be carried out in large swathes of England for the currently forseeable future, as it does not look likely that tier 2 or tier 3 restrictions will be lifted quickly.
But I have to say I find myself wondering on what legal basis the Lord Chancellor can do this by writing a letter with a request to bailiffs. And I am struggling to come up with an answer. It would not surprise me at all to see this challenged.
Also who knows where this leaves Wales!?