Bankruptcies up 7.7% on last year

Between the beginning of April and the end of June 2007, more than 16,000 people in England and Wales opted to declare bankruptcy by way of a debt solution, according to data released by the Insolvency Service.

However, on a quarterly basis the number of bankruptcies fell by 2.9 per cent, with around 800 more people having been declared as such in the first three months of 2007 than during the second quarter.

“These figures equate to almost 300 people being declared insolvent every day – a truly astonishing number,” said Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat MP, in response to the Insolvency Service figures.

“But these are not freak figures. Sadly, they are likely to get worse with families feeling a further pinch on their budgets if interest rates rise again.”

The accountancy firm KPMG predicted earlier this year that the number of individual insolvencies in the UK would top 130,000 over the course of 2007.