The total number of personal insolvencies in Q1 of 2010 is a 17.9% increase on the same quarter of 2009.
35,682 people entered into personal insolvency in the first quarter of 2010.
Pat Boyden, partner and personal insolvency expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said the rising numbers of people struggling with personal debt were, “showing no sign of slowing as the UK economy comes out of recession”.
18,256 individuals in England and Wales were made bankrupt this quarter, 11,782 entered into Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) and 5,644 Debt Relief Orders (DRO).
The government figures reveal bankruptcy and Debt Relief Orders are becoming more popular than IVAs, which Boyden said, “are more structured and designed to return funds to creditors. This demonstrates that consumers are having increasing difficulty in reaching compromises with creditors due to lack of available funds".
