UK insolvencies down 5%

The number of British people declared insolvent fell by 5% during the three months to the end of September - the first year-on-year decrease in five years, figures showed today.

But the Insolvency Service statistics also revealed that within the figure the number of bankruptcies rose 2.2% on the same period last year, at 15,833.

The bankruptcy rise follows a dispute between banks and Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) providers, which has seen the number of IVAs in the quarter drop by a dramatic 14.3% on the same period last year.

IVAs are debt arrangements that can help prevent people from going into bankruptcy, but they have come under increasing criticism over suitability for certain consumers and the arrangement fees charged by providers.

Nearly one in five IVA applications are rejected by lenders.

Today's figures showed there were 26,072 personal insolvencies in England in Wales - people who were either declared bankrupt or took out an IVA - which is down 3% on the previous quarter.

The drop is the third quarterly fall in a row and the annual decrease, which was the first since 2002, was greater than expected.

But insolvency expert Pay Boyden of PricewaterhouseCoopers Business Recovery Services said recent credit card debt figures could signal further insolvency misery to come.

"It is worrying that credit card debt went up in September for the first time in two years so this may be an indication that we are heading for another wave of insolvency rises next year."

Data from the Ministry of Justice showed that the number of orders for home repossessions in England and Wales dropped by 1% in the third quarter year-on-year, at 23,806.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders predicted just days ago that the number of repossessions could rocket by 50% next year as borrowers feel the pinch from five interest rate rises since last August and a tightening in lending criteria amid the credit crunch.

In August, CML figures revealing the actual number of home repossessions across the UK showed that repossessions in the first half rose by nearly a third to 14,000.

It predicts the number to rise to 30,000 by year-end, up 32% on 2006.

While the numbers are still far behind the 75,000 annual repossessions recorded at the height of the housing crash in the early 1990s, it is a cause for concern, according to Mr Boyden.