54A. (1) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (4), nothing in this Act shall be taken to prevent any person (not being a personal insolvency practitioner)—

(a) employed by a personal insolvency practitioner or by a partnership in which a personal insolvency practitioner is a partner, or

(b) having a common employer with a personal insolvency practitioner,

from performing, when requested to do so by the personal insolvency practitioner (in this subsection referred to as the "requesting personal insolvency practitioner") and under the requesting personal insolvency practitioner’s direction and control, any function (or any act in relation to such function) that is authorised or required by or under this Act to be performed by the requesting personal insolvency practitioner.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be taken to prevent a personal insolvency practitioner—

(a) in a partnership in which another personal insolvency practitioner is also a partner,

(b) employed by another personal insolvency practitioner or by a partnership in which another personal insolvency practitioner is a partner, or

(c) having a common employer with another personal insolvency practitioner,

from performing, subject to any regulations under section 161, when requested to do so by that other personal insolvency practitioner (in this subsection referred to as the "requesting personal insolvency practitioner") and acting under the requesting personal insolvency practitioner’s direction, any function (or any act in relation to such function) that is authorised or required by or under this Act to be performed by the requesting personal insolvency practitioner.

(3) The requesting personal insolvency practitioner under the subsection concerned shall, for all purposes under this Act, remain responsible in all respects for the performance, pursuant to the subsection concerned, of any function or act by a person referred to in subsection (1) or a personal insolvency practitioner referred to in subsection (2).

(4) The Insolvency Service, with the consent of the Minister, may, and if directed by the Minister to do so and in accordance with the terms of the direction, shall, by regulations provide for any of the following:

(a) the functions (if any) under this Act of a personal insolvency practitioner which may or may not, be performed by a person to whom paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) applies;

(b) the qualifications (including levels of training, education, expertise and experience), and any other attributes (including standards of competence, fitness and probity) that a person to whom paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) applies must possess before a particular function of a personal insolvency practitioner may be performed by him or her;

(c) the requirement that a person to whom paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) applies, be subject, in the performance of functions or acts pursuant to that subsection, to appropriate supervision, guidance and training by a personal insolvency practitioner.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (c) of subsection (4), regulations under that paragraph may require, where a person performs acts or functions pursuant to subsection (1), that the supervision and guidance referred to in the paragraph ensure all or any of the following, where applicable:

(a) the proper gathering, checking and processing of information regarding a debtor’s financial affairs;

(b) the proper preparation and communication of written or oral information or evidence for any purpose under any enactment;

(c) the proper management of records and accounts;

(d) the proper chairing and conduct of creditors’ meetings.]