It was revealed earlier this month that bankruptcy levels in England and Wales had reached the highest on record, with the financial crisis and the ongoing recession forcing more and more people into insolvency.
The figures were released several weeks ago by the Insolvency Service, and reflect just how dire the financial situation has become for many people as the recession continued to deepen.
The Insolvency Service report showed that during the first three months of this year there were over nineteen thousand bankruptcies and nearly eleven thousand Individual Voluntary Arrangements across England and Wales.
There was some light at the end of the tunnel, with the number of companies that were going bust in England and Wales falling over the first three months of the year, although the figure was still over 50 percent higher than the same period last year.
One insolvency expert said that the level of personal insolvencies across England and Wales could soar to 125,000 this year. He said: “This reflects both the stresses of high levels of personal debt and rising unemployment and a record number of entrepreneurs going bankrupt on the back of their business’s failure.“
Another said that the recently introduced Debt Relief Orders would play a big part in the increase in insolvency numbers this year, as these will make it cheaper and easier for many people to declare themselves insolvent.
He said: “What we are seeing is actually record levels of personal insolvency. Debt Relief Orders introduced just a month ago are going to add to what makes these figures and take them to even higher levels.“