Individual insolvency statistics - August 2024

The August 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 – August 2024

In August 2024, 10,000 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was 5% lower than in July 2024 and 16% higher than in August 2023. The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

5,240 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
4,166 debt relief orders (DROs)
594 bankruptcies

In the 12 months to 31 August 2024, 56% of individual insolvencies were IVAs, 36% were DROs, and 7% were bankruptcies.

IVAs

The number of IVAs was 9% lower than July 2024, but 1% higher than August 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 August 2024 was similar to the numbers seen in July 2024, but lower than the record high monthly numbers seen in June 2024. However, the number of DROs in August 2024 was nearly twice as high as the long-term (2014 to 2023) monthly average, and levels remain much higher than at any other point since their introduction.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in August 2024 was lower than monthly numbers seen over the past 12 months. Bankruptcy numbers have declined since 2009 and fell further during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bankruptcies in August 2024 consisted of:

454 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was 7% lower than in July 2024 and 13% lower than in August 2023.
140 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 12% lower than in July 2024 and 13% lower than in August 2023.

Individual insolvency rate statistics for England and Wales – August 2024

The individual liquidation rate in the 12 months to August 2024 was 22.7 per 10,000 adults in England and Wales. This corresponds to 1 in 441 adults having entered an insolvency procedure in the past 12 months.

The rate in the 12 months to August 2024 was lower than the rate in the 12 months to August 2023. This was driven by a decline in IVA numbers since the second half of 2023, which exceeded increases in DRO and bankruptcy numbers.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q2 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 Q2 2024, there were 2,056 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was similar levels to the same quarter of 2023. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

1,348 protected trust deeds
708 sequestrations (of which 389 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – August 2024

In Northern Ireland in August 2024, there were 90 individual insolvencies, which was 35% lower than in August 2023. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

67 IVAs
17 DROs
6 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 September 2024 will be released on 18 October 2024.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics August 2024 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Images

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Publication date

23 September 2024