UK personal insolvency statistics: current picture

This is a data study. We are a directory, not an adviser. This page summarises published information and is not financial or legal advice. It does not assess an individual’s situation or rank firms. Readers looking for regulated debt advice can contact StepChange, National Debtline or Citizens Advice.

The headline finding is that the latest published series point upward in both England and Wales and Scotland, but they are separate statistical systems rather than a single UK total. England and Wales recorded 11,871 individual insolvencies in June 2026, while Scotland recorded 2,181 bankruptcies and Protected Trust Deeds in April–June 2026.

The current picture in one table

England and Wales: latest monthly figures

The June 2026 release, published on 17 July, reports 674 bankruptcies, 3,879 Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and 7,318 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs). These sum to the published 11,871 total. The release reports the total as 5% higher than May 2026 and 16% higher than June 2025.

The 12-month rate is useful because it adjusts the case count for the adult population. The Insolvency Service puts it at 27.1 per 10,000 adults, or 1 in 369, compared with 24.2 per 10,000, or 1 in 413, a year earlier. It is a rate of formal individual insolvencies, not a measure of every household experiencing financial difficulty.

Breathing Space is reported alongside the insolvency series but is a respite scheme, not an insolvency procedure. There were 4,495 registrations in June 2026, which the release says was 41% lower than June 2025. The series should therefore not be added to the insolvency total.

England and Wales: full-year 2025

The annual picture provides a different time window. The December 2025 release reports 126,240 individual insolvencies during 2025, up 7% from 117,958 in 2024. The Insolvency Service describes 2025 as the highest annual total since 2010. Its annual rate was 25.3 per 10,000 adults, or 1 in 395, compared with 24.1 per 10,000, or 1 in 415, in 2024.

The IVA provider report and annual insolvency release are different publications and can have different reporting cuts. This page keeps each number attached to its stated source rather than treating close-but-not-identical figures as interchangeable.

Scotland: quarterly statutory debt solutions

Scotland’s Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) reports by quarter and uses Scottish statutory solutions. In 2026–27 Q1, 849 bankruptcies were awarded, up 15.2% year on year. The release identifies 223 full-administration bankruptcies and 482 MAP bankruptcies within the reported breakdown. It also reports 1,332 Protected Trust Deeds, up 11.4%, and 1,362 approved DAS Debt Payment Programmes, down 2.6%.

These labels are not substitutes for England and Wales categories. For context on the legal routes, see the directory’s Scotland page and England and Wales page.

Northern Ireland: latest cited release

The official Gazette notice used here reports 156 individual insolvencies for March 2026: 110 IVAs, 23 bankruptcies and 23 DROs. This page does not use later Northern Ireland figures that could not be corroborated in the cited official material. The national monthly release collection remains the appropriate place to check for updates.

Method

Dates covered. England and Wales monthly data to June 2026 (published 17 July 2026); annual data for 2025 (published 20 January and 27 February 2026); Scotland to 2026–27 Q1 (published 22 July 2026); and Northern Ireland to March 2026.

Sources. The Insolvency Service, the Accountant in Bankruptcy and the official Gazette notice.

How this page was compiled. The figures were transcribed from the latest named releases available on 10 August 2026. No UK-wide total was estimated. Every figure is linked to the publication that reports it. Figures from different national series have not been added together because the legal regimes, reporting frequency and definitions differ.

Scope and limits. A monthly count, an annual count, a rate and a Scottish quarterly figure answer different questions. The next England and Wales monthly release was scheduled after this page’s review date.

Reading the series carefully

The England and Wales monthly release is a count of new individual insolvencies registered in one calendar month. The annual release is a count across a full calendar year. The rate is a rolling or annual population-adjusted measure. The June release explicitly reports 11,871 cases in June, whereas the 2025 release reports 126,240 cases over the year. Neither number is a count of all people with arrears or an estimate of households with problem debt.

The solution mix also needs to be read within each release. In June 2026, the published count of 7,318 IVAs was larger than the counts of 3,879 DROs and 674 bankruptcies. The Insolvency Service adds that June’s IVA count was above the 2025 monthly average of 5,987, except that December 2025 was affected by a cleared backlog. That operational note is relevant when reading a single high monthly count.

A similar caution applies to Breathing Space. The 89,130 registrations in 2025 were the highest since the scheme launched in 2021, according to the annual release, while the 4,495 June 2026 registrations were below the same month a year earlier. Formal insolvency and Breathing Space are different legal categories, so neither statistic is included in the other.

Scotland is not an England and Wales subset. Its quarterly publication reports bankruptcies, PTDs and DAS programmes under Scottish law. The 1,362 approved DAS programmes are reported alongside, but are not added to the 2,181 bankruptcies and PTDs headline used above. This preserves the categories selected by AiB.

Where the data can change

Monthly releases can be revised or contextualised in later publications. The Insolvency Service’s monthly statistics collection is the current source for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. AiB maintains a separate statistics page for Scotland. This study is a dated snapshot as at 10 August 2026, not a live dashboard.

Definitions behind the England and Wales totals

The England and Wales series identifies three components: bankruptcy, Debt Relief Orders and Individual Voluntary Arrangements. For June 2026 the published components were 674 bankruptcies, 3,879 DROs and 7,318 IVAs. The labels are legal solutions, not levels of debt, and the release does not say that one component is preferable to another.

The annual release’s 46,939 DRO figure for 2025 is described as the highest since DROs were introduced in 2009. Its 89,130 Breathing Space registrations are described as the highest since that scheme launched in 2021. Those historical comparisons are statements from the source, not estimates made by this page.

For a reader comparing the nations, timing matters as much as terminology. England and Wales data are monthly; Scotland’s cited data cover April to June; the cited Northern Ireland observation is March. A March, quarter and June number cannot be stacked into an accurate “latest UK” total without a harmonised release. This page therefore uses a multi-nation picture rather than a composite total.

Release status

The June publication is labelled accredited official statistics. Its coverage note identifies England and Wales and Northern Ireland monthly information, Scotland quarterly information and England and Wales Breathing Space data. The annual data and provider data have later publication dates, so this article names the date beside the relevant figure rather than treating all entries as one release.

Date discipline

Each comparison on this page uses the reporting date printed by its linked source. The article does not project the figures forward from the published 2025 data, nor does it treat a later publication date as a later observation period. This preserves the source’s stated time boundary.

Why a UK total is not shown

A single UK total would be tempting but would be misleading in this snapshot. The Insolvency Service June publication covers monthly England and Wales and Northern Ireland information and points to quarterly Scotland information. The AiB quarter-one release is separately timed and uses Scottish statutory-solution categories.

Adding these outputs together would mix a June month, an April-to-June quarter and a March Northern Ireland observation. It would also risk treating Scottish PTDs and DAS programmes as directly equivalent to England and Wales categories. This study therefore presents a nation-by-nation dashboard in prose rather than creating an artificial current UK figure.

The approach is conservative but transparent: each number retains its publication date, authority and unit. A later official release may update the national picture. The Insolvency Service official-statistics collection and AiB statistics page are linked for the next dated releases.

Talk to a regulated professional. The right route out of debt depends on your specific circumstances — income, assets, debts, dependents and where you live in the UK. A regulated insolvency practitioner or a debt-advice charity can review your position and set out the options that apply to you. Find a regulated practitioner near you or contact a free debt-advice charity listed above.

Frequently asked questions

How many people became personally insolvent in England and Wales in the latest month?

The June 2026 release recorded 11,871.

Is personal insolvency rising or falling in England and Wales?

The June total was 16% higher than June 2025, and the 2025 annual total was 7% higher than 2024.

What share of 2025 individual insolvencies were IVAs?

The IVA report gives 57%.

Where are the newest official figures published?

The Insolvency Service monthly collection covers England and Wales; AiB statistics cover Scotland.

This page is published by The Insolvency Directory for general information about UK personal insolvency and debt options. It is not financial, legal, tax or debt advice, and reading it does not create a client relationship. The information is a summary — the rules change and depend on your circumstances. For advice specific to you, contact a regulated debt-advice charity or an authorised insolvency practitioner. Last reviewed 2026-08-10.