The consultation is seeking responses about several aspects of pre-pack deals, which have become a major talking point across the print industry.

Lucas alluded to a potential consultation when the Insolvency Service published its report into SIP 16 guidelines in the second half of 2009.

The current document incorporates 31 questions and gives five different options for respondents to consider.

Options include giving statutory force to the disclosure requirements currently in SIP 16 and penalties for non-compliance.

Requiring a different insolvency practitioner to be appointed than the one that consulted with the company prior to it becoming insolvent and requiring the approval of the court or creditors, or both, for the approval for all pre-pack business sales to connected parties are also being considered.

The consultation questions ask whether pre-packs are currently subject to abuse and whether there are concerns with the way pre-packs are executed. It also asks respondents to consider the perceived positive contributions of pre-packs to the wider community.

It is open until 24 June 2010 and the consultation document can be viewed here.

PrintWeek intends to collate responses from its readers to send to the Insolvency Service. A new forum has been created for responses to be posted. Click here to visit the forum and give your opinion.

All responses need to be attributable, so anonymous postings will not be accepted, please add your name and company name at the end of your response.