The April 2024 individual insolvency stats for England and Wales have been published by The Insolvency Service, together with related figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Individual insolvency statistics for England and Wales – April 2024

In April 2024, 9,651 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was 10% higher than in March 2024 and 5% higher than in April 2023. The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

• 5,567 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
• 3,436 debt relief orders (DROs)
• 648 bankruptcies

In the 12 months to 30 April 2024, 60% of individual insolvencies were IVAs, 33% were DROs, and 8% were bankruptcies.

IVAs

The number of IVAs was 3% higher than March 2024, but 7% lower than April 2023 after seasonal adjustment.

IVA numbers over the past year have been lower than the record high annual number seen in 2022.

DROs

The number of DROs in April 2024 were the highest monthly number recorded in the time series which goes back to the introduction of DROs in 2009, 63% higher than the long-term (2014 to 2023) monthly average.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in April 2024 was similar to numbers over the past nine months. Bankruptcy numbers have declined since 2009 and fell further during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bankruptcies in April 2024 consisted of:

• 528 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was 2% lower than in March 2024 and 15% higher than in April 2023.
• 120 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 18% lower than in March 2024 and 12% lower than in April 2023.

Individual insolvency rate statistics for England and Wales – April 2024

The individual liquidation rate in the 12 months to April 2024 was 21.6 per 10,000 adults in England and Wales. This corresponds to 1 in 463 adults having entered an insolvency procedure in the past 12 months.

The rate in the 12 months to April 2024 was the lowest since the 12 months ending November 2017. This was driven by a decline in IVA numbers in the second half of 2023, which exceeded increases in DRO and bankruptcy numbers.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q1 2024

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers individual insolvency in Scotland. The AiB produces individual insolvency statistics on a quarterly basis. Therefore, the numbers in this section are updated once every three months only.

In Q1 2024, there were 1,884 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was slightly lower than in the same quarter of 2023. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

• 1,281 protected trust deeds
• 603 sequestrations (of which 343 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – April 2024

In Northern Ireland in April 2024, there were 112 individual insolvencies, which was the same as in April 2023. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

• 84 IVAs
• 8 DROs
• 20 bankruptcies

Please note, individual insolvency in Northern Ireland is governed by separate, but broadly similar, legislation to England and Wales, and so figures are presented separately.

Where can I see insolvency notices in The Gazette?

The Gazette is the primary source of both corporate insolvency and personal insolvency information in the UK and publishes this information in the form of insolvency notices, allowing transparency for the public, the credit industry and concerned individuals to quantify risk and inform creditors. You can view all corporate and personal insolvency notices on The Gazette website.

The Gazette also provides a Data Service which provides timely official company, insolvency and deceased estates information to aid data driven decision-making. As the UK’s official public record, our authorised data can help your business with:

• KYC/due diligence
• risk management
• regulatory compliance
• business development
• business intelligence and strategy

For more information on The Gazette Data Service, contact the team on 01603 985949, email data@thegazette.co.uk or click on the link below.

Enquire now

Next insolvency statistics release

Figures for May 2024 will be released on 18 June 2024.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

See also

Company insolvency statistics – April 2024

Individual insolvency statistics - March 2024

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics April 2024 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Images

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Publication date

20 May 2024