Bankruptcy figures show further decline
Personal bankruptcies in Scotland are at their lowest level since April 2008, according to figures from the Accountant in Bankruptcy released today.
Official statistics for the second quarter of 2014-15 show that personal insolvencies, which include both bankruptcies and protected trust deeds (PTDs), fell by 12.5% on the same period of the previous year, to 2,991, though were slightly up ion the 2,968 recorded in the previous quarter.
There were 1,654 awards of bankruptcy in the quarter, down 5.8% on the previous quarter and 3.9% on the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and the lowest number of bankruptcies awarded since before the introduction of the low income, low asset (LILA) route in 2008.
The number of PTDs recorded was 1,337, a 10.3% increase on the previous quarter but a 21.2% decrease on the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The number choosing to enter the statutory debt management solution, the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS), decreased as 1,156 cases were approved, down 8.3% from the previous quarter and 1.2% on the same period of the previous year. A total of £9.4m was repaid under DAS in the second quarter of 2014-15 (£8.6m in Q1).
At 4,147, the total for all three statutory debt solutions was 9.6% lower than the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
After two quarters of rising numbers, the number of Scottish registered companies becoming insolvent or entering receivership decreased by 16.4% to 209, a total also 22% lower than the same quarter of the previous year.