Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2020
Official statistics for individual insolvencies in England and Wales from 2011 to 2020, broken down by region and local authority areas; age; and gender.
Applies to England and Wales
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In 2020 the rate of individual insolvency in England and Wales was 23.7 per 10,000 adults, meaning that one in every 422 adults entered an insolvency procedure during that year.
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The total insolvency rate decreased for the first time in five years, likely to have been partly driven by enhanced government financial support measures put in place to support individuals during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Quarterly Individual Insolvency Statistics provide further detail on insolvency trends during 2020 following the onset of the pandemic.
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Individuals in the North East of England continued to have the highest individual insolvency rates (30.9 per 10,000), while individuals in London had the lowest (15.9 per 10,000). The other seven English Regions, as well as Wales, all had rates between 22.5 and 26.3 per 10,000.
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Rates varied by local authority from 9.3 per 10,000 (1 in 1,080 adults) in Westminster to 44.6 per 10,000 (1 in 224 adults) in Kingston upon Hull. The local authorities with the highest rates of individual insolvency were spread across England and Wales, and were mainly in coastal areas, ranging from Plymouth, to Scarborough, to Blackpool. The highest rates outside of coastal areas were for Stoke-on-Trent, Corby, and Telford and Wrekin.
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There were no large changes to the geographical distribution of insolvency rates between 2019 and 2020. Most local authorities saw changes in insolvency rates similar to the overall England and Wales decline of 9%. The majority of local authorities saw a decline of between 2% and 16%.
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The seven local authorities with the lowest insolvency rates were all London boroughs. The next lowest were St Albans and Epsom and Ewell.
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Rates varied by parliamentary constituency from 8.1 per 10,000 (1 in 1239 adults) in Cities of London and Westminster to 48.8 per 10,000 (1 in 205 adults) in Plymouth, Moor View.
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Of the 10 parliamentary constituencies with the highest insolvency rates, eight were coastal. Seven out of the 10 parliamentary constituencies with the lowest insolvency rates were in London.
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The female insolvency rate (24.8 per 10,000) was higher than for males (22.4 per 10,000) for the seventh successive year, although the gap decreased compared to 2019. Women are more likely than men to have a debt relief order or individual voluntary arrangement, while men are more likely to become bankrupt.
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Insolvency rates were highest for 25 to 44 year olds and lowest for those aged 65+. Insolvency rates decreased for all age groups except for those aged 18 to 24 compared to 2019. The long-term trend shows an increase in insolvency rates for younger adults and a decrease for older adults.
Updates to this page
Last updated 16 November 2021 + show all updates
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Added interactive dashboard for parliamentary constituencies
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Individual insolvencies by parliamentary constituency added. In addition, an error was discovered affecting numbers in Dorset and those with an unknown location in the tables by location, age and gender, and corresponding commentary, which has now been fixed.
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Added interactive dashboard
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First published.