The idea of compulsory sale orders is just a nuclear deterrent which is not going to affect the rich, but the poor

Tommy Sheridan SSP

Mr Wallace said the Bill put forward a "workable but humane" alternative to the present system.

But Scottish Socialist leader Tommy Sheridan, MSP, said it could prove to be worse.

Ministers were forced to develop a new form of debt collection after the Scottish Parliament passed a member's Bill introduced by Mr Sheridan, to scrap poindings and warrant sales.

'Unfairly targeted'

The executive suffered an embarrassment in April 2000 when it was forced to withdraw a motion against Mr Sheridan's Bill because of the strength of feeling among Labour MSPs.

The SSP leader said that the poor were being unfairly targeted by the practice, which involves a debtor's possessions being seized and sold to raise money.

However, when MSPs passed the legislation to outlaw warrant sales in December 2000 they also agreed a two-year delay in implementation so that an alternative method of debt recovery could be devised.

Proposals in the Bill include:

• A statutory national debt arrangement scheme to help people repay debts, free from the threat of enforcement action

• New incentives for debtors and creditors to reach negotiated settlements out of court

• A new, less intrusive enforcement procedure which will target only those who can pay but do not

• Provision of money advice and information in court within the court process.

New incentives

The executive said that the proposed new compulsory sale order would be more discriminating and would only be issued by a sheriff when he or she is certain the debtor can pay but refuses to do so.

Mr Wallace said: "The Bill makes a clear distinction between those who can pay their debts and those who cannot.

"They will give people new opportunities to deal with their debts free from the threat of enforcement."

Tommy Sheridan: "Worse situation"

"No-one has sought to defend the situation where wealthy people, who have assets such as big cars and paintings, should be able to evade their debts when they can pay and are refusing to pay."

However, Mr Sheridan said the new proposals were an acceptable replacement.

"The idea of compulsory sale orders is just a nuclear deterrent which is not going to affect the rich, but the poor," he said.

"There have been 23,000 poinding sales in the past two years and these have been against the poor.

'Insult to democracy'

"There are a number of ways open to target the rich, whether it is bank arrestment, wage arrestment or liquidation.

"But the compulsory sale orders will be used against the poor to frighten and humiliate them - that is why they are wrong."

Mr Sheridan said he would not support a replacement for poindings and warrant sales that was effectively the same thing.

The Scottish National Party's justice spokeswoman, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, said "warrant sales" would remain and the Bill was an insult to the democratic process.

"I can see little difference between a warrant sale and an auction of attached articles," she said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if following closer inspection it turned out that some of the measures contained within this Bill aren't more draconian than those we voted to abolish."