FOI release

FOI22/23-039 - The number of creditors petitions that led to bankruptcies and of the Bankruptcy Orders made in 2021 onwards how many were annulled

Published 18 January 2023

Our ref: FOI22/23-039

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your email of 22 July 2022 in which you clarified your information request from the Insolvency Service as:

  1. The number of creditors petitions that led to bankruptcies (where the bankruptcy date was in 2021 onwards).

  2. Of the Bankruptcy Orders made in 2021 onwards how many were annulled.

Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I can confirm the agency holds the information that you have requested and I have provided answers to your questions below.

Question 1 – The number of creditors petitions that led to bankruptcies (where the bankruptcy date was in 2021 onwards).

There were 1,108 between Jan 21 and Dec 21 and 630 between Jan 22 and July 22.

This information is also available in Table 3 of the published statistics at:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/monthly-insolvency-statistics

Question 2 – Of the Bankruptcy Orders made in 2021 onwards how many were annulled:

75 were annulled in 2021 (64 Creditor Petition and 11 Debtor Petition)

5 were annulled in 2022 (4 Creditor Petition and 1 Debtor Petition).

A bankruptcy order may be annulled at any time after it has been made.  It is not uncommon for a bankruptcy order to be annulled many months, or even years, after it has been made.  The figure given in this reply relating to bankruptcy orders from 2021 onwards which have subsequently been annulled is therefore likely to increase as time goes on.

If you are not satisfied with the response we have provided you and would like us to reconsider our decision by way of an internal review (IR), please contact our Information Rights Team at foi@insolvency.gov.uk or by post at:

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

3rd Floor

Cannon House

18 Priory Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6FD

United Kingdom

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if you wish for them to investigate any complaint you may have regarding our handling of your request. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect an IR to have been completed in the first instance.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service