It has recently been reported that the number of individual insolvencies in England and Wales has risen for the first time in a year.

The Insolvency Service revealed that there were 19,683 personal insolvencies in the third quarter of 2015, which comprised 3,857 Bankruptcies, 5,629 Debt Relief Orders and 10,197 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs). This represented a rise in individual insolvencies of 2.8% compared with the previous three months.

The Insolvency Service said that the rise was caused by the increase in IVAs; which is basically a deal brokered between somebody in debt and their creditors that is then overseen or ‘supervised’ by an Insolvency Practitioner.

It is interesting to note that despite the overall rise in the number of personal insolvencies, the number of people being made bankrupt actually fell in this third quarter. It is thought that this number could fall even further, due to the rule change in October 2015 order that the minimum debt a creditor must be owed in order to be able to petition to make someone bankrupt increased from £750 to £5,000.

With the Festive Season approaching, the increase in personal insolvencies has triggered warnings that households are struggling to cope with debt, even before the long-anticipated rise in interest rates. If you are concerned about your personal debts, a confidential discussion with an experienced and qualified specialist to talk through the range of options available may well be the best course of action. Please contact us if you would like an initial consultation, free of charge.