Individual Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2023
Statistics on new individual insolvencies in England and Wales, and related statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland
Documents
Details
Following a consultation in 2023, the Insolvency Service will merge the monthly and quarterly statistics while maintaining monthly frequency. This the last release in the current format. The first release in the new format will be published on 26 April 2024. It will be available on the Individual Insolvency Statistics releases page.
Annual Summary for England & Wales
-
The number of individual insolvencies registered in 2023 was 103,454, which was 13% lower than the 118,766 in 2022. The number of individual insolvencies was the lowest annual number since 2017.
-
2023 saw the lowest annual number of IVAs since 2017, while DROs were at the highest annual level since their introduction in 2009. Bankruptcies increased slightly from the 40-year low in 2022, but remained less than half of pre-2020 levels. IVAs accounted for 62% of all individual insolvencies, down from 74% in 2022.
-
One in 461 adults (at a rate of 21.7 per 10,000 adults) entered insolvency in 2023. This is lower than the 25.0 per 10,000 adults who entered insolvency in 2022.
-
There were 88,390 registered breathing spaces in 2023, comprised of 86,928 Standard and 1,462 Mental Health breathing space registrations. Breathing Space numbers were 25% higher than in 2022. Since the start of the scheme on 4 May 2021, more than 200,000 breathing spaces have been registered.
Quarterly summary for Q4 2023
-
After seasonal adjustment, the number of individual insolvencies in October to December (Q4) 2023 was 3% higher than in Q3 2023. The number of debt relief orders (DROs) was the highest quarterly number since their introduction in 2009, while individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) were similar to Q3. Bankruptcy numbers were slightly lower. The total number of individual insolvencies was 15% lower than in Q4 2022.
-
There were 20,890 Breathing Space registrations in Q4 2023. This is 15% higher than in Q4 2022. Of the 20,890 Breathing Space registrations, 20,517 were Standard Breathing Space registrations and 373 were Mental Health Breathing Space registrations.