Personal insolvencies on the up

The number of people being declared insolvent in England and Wales has risen for the first time in a year. Individual insolvencies rose by 2.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, but they were still down by nearly one-fifth from a year ago. 

The rise, the first since the second quarter of 2014, was driven by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) in which money is shared out between creditors, the Insolvency Service said.

The Insolvency Service said there were 19,683 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the third quarter, of which 3,857 were bankruptcies, 5,629 debt relief orders (DROs) and 10,197 IVAs. 

The number of personal bankruptcies in England and Wales peaked during the financial crisis in 2009, but has fallen dramatically and now stands at the lowest level for 25 years.

Personal Insolvence Barrister - myBarrister