Methodology and Quality Document - Breathing Spaces by Location, Age and Money Advisor Organisation, 4 May 2021 to 30 April 2022
Published 29 June 2022
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/breathing-spaces-by-location-age-and-money-advisor-organisation-4-may-2021-to-30-april-2022/methodology-and-quality-document-breathing-spaces-by-location-age-and-money-advisor-organisation-4-may-2021-to-30-april-2022
The statistics in this publication provide breakdowns of breathing spaces registered under the Debt Respite Scheme in England and Wales, broken down by age, money advisor organisation, region, county, and local authority.
For information on individual insolvency statistics in England and Wales please see the quarterly Insolvency Statistics publication, which is the definitive source of the number of new cases each year in England and Wales, and the rate per 10,000 adults. The latest document can be found on the gov.uk website.
This is an ad-hoc statistics release. In the future, demographic breakdowns of breathing spaces will be included in the annual Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender statistics. The next edition is due to be published in March/April 2023.
1. Methodology
1.1 Data sources for breathing spaces
Breathing space data was sourced from the Breathing Space register in June 2022, which is managed by the Insolvency Service. Data are tabulated by location and age as recorded in the administrative system.
Geographical boundary definitions are sourced from the Office for National Statistics and are based on Ordnance Survey data. Note that due to small numbers, the Isles of Scilly has been merged with Cornwall and the City of London has been merged with Westminster.
Population statistics are sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Breakdowns are included by age and local authority, so they can be used as the denominator when calculating breathing space rates per 10,000 adults. At the time of publication, the ONS mid-year population estimates by location were not available for 2021 or 2022, so the mid-year population estimates for 2020 were used instead. Therefore, the rates presented in this publication are provisional and numbers related to Breathing Space that are published as part of future releases of the Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender publication may revised from the numbers in these ad-hoc statistics.
More information on the administrative systems used to compile the agency’s statistics can be found in the Statement of Administrative Sources.
1.2 Tabulating numbers of breathing spaces
Data are tabulated by location and age as recorded in the administrative system.
In a small number of cases (approximately 1%), the postcode on the administrative system was missing or invalid. The number of these is shown in Table 1 of the accompanying tables under the ‘Unknown’ category. These cases are included in the overall England & Wales numbers, but not in any lower-level geography breakdowns.
2. Revisions
Population estimates for 2021 and 2022 were not available as at the time of publication, so the 2020 mid-year population estimates were used to calculate breathing space rates for the period 4 May 2021 to 30 April 2022. Therefore, the rates presented in this publication are provisional and numbers related to Breathing Space that are published as part of future releases of the Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender publication may revised from the numbers in these ad-hoc statistics.
The impact of using the previous year’s population estimates to calculate insolvency rates is likely to be small. For the majority of local authorities, estimated year on year population changes are less than 1%. Except for local authorities with small population numbers, such as the City of London, the maximum estimated year on year population change in any local authority for any year between 2011 and 2020 was 4%.
3. Quality
This section provides information on the quality of these statistics, to enable users to judge whether the data are of sufficient quality for their intended use.
The section is structured to align with the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System for statistical outputs.
Relevance: The degree to which the statistical product meets user needs in both coverage and content.
HMT has policy responsibility for the Debt Respite Scheme in England and Wales, but the Insolvency Service is the custodian of the administrative system used to produce these statistics. The extent of the coverage of these statistics reflects what is available in the administrative system.
Breathing space figures at national (England and Wales) level are published quarterly by the Insolvency Service as a National Statistics release. The statistics in this publication provide breakdowns by region, county, unitary authority, local authority and by age and money advisor group. Information on gender is not recorded.
Key users of breathing space statistics include HMT, which has policy responsibility for the Debt Respite Scheme in England & Wales; the Insolvency Service; other government departments; parliament; the insolvency profession; debt advice agencies; media organisations; academics; the financial sector; the business community and the general public.
The statistical production team welcomes feedback from users of these statistics (current contact details are provided on the front page of the latest release).
Accuracy and Reliability: Accuracy is the proximity between an estimate and the unknown true value. Reliability is the closeness of early estimations to subsequent estimated values.
Checks are in place to identify and remove duplication of cases, to ensure that returns cover all reporting areas, and to check consistency within tables and between related tables.
Accuracy and completeness of geographic data
Individuals have been classified into geographic areas on the basis of the postcode supplied by the individual. As some postcodes supplied are missing or incomplete, or do not match the NSPL some individuals have not been matched to geographic areas. As shown in Table 1 of the accompanying tables, approximately 1% of cases remained unmatched.
In a small number of cases (approximately 1%), the location on the administrative system was missing or invalid. This total is shown in the accompanying tables under the ‘Unknown’ category. These cases are included in the overall England & Wales numbers, but not in any lower-level geography breakdowns.
Timeliness and Punctuality: Timeliness refers to the elapsed time between publication and the period to which the data refer. Punctuality refers to the time lag between the actual and planned dates of publication.
The key statistics in this publication relate to the rate of breathing spaces per 10,000 adults, which is dependent on population estimates at local authority, county and unitary authority, and region level for the denominator in this calculation. The ONS released Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, mid-2020 on 25 June 2021. The next release is due in September 2022.
Following discussion with the ONS, along with considering feedback and requests from users, we concluded that the benefits of providing timely information outweighed the small inaccuracies associated with the use of the previous year’s population estimates. Therefore, the population denominators are derived from the latest release of the ONS mid-year estimates (2020). The rates are marked as provisional and will be revised when these statistics are next released.
The publication schedule for these statistics, and all other Insolvency Service statistics, can be found on the UK National Statistics Publication Hub.
Comparability and Coherence: Comparability is the degree to which data can be compared over time and domain. Coherence is the degree to which data are derived from different sources or methods, but refer to the same topic, are similar.
The numbers presented in this release are consistent with the May 2022 Monthly Insolvency statistics, which provides monthly breakdowns of the number of standard and mental health breathing spaces.
Accessibility and Clarity: Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of metadata, illustrations and accompanying advice.
Statistics relating to Breathing Space are available free of charge to the end user on the GOV.UK website. They are released via the Publication Hub and they meet the standards required under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The accompanying data tables are formatted in line with current guidance for producers of official statistics to help improve the usability, accessibility and machine readability of spreadsheets. The Government Statistical Service are continuing to review this guidance and so the presentation of these statistics may change in the future.
Views on the clarity of the publication are welcomed via the contact details on the cover page of this release.
Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at [email protected].