Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2021
Official statistics for individual insolvencies in England and Wales from 2011 to 2021, broken down by region, local authority areas, parliamentary constituencies; age; gender; and electoral ward.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This publication contains five sets of data tables, which are linked to on this page:
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Individual insolvencies by Location, England and Wales, 2011 to 2021 contains a time series with breakdowns of insolvency numbers and rates by country, region, county and local authority
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Individual insolvencies by Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2011 to 2021 contains a time series with breakdowns of insolvency numbers and rates by age and gender
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Individual insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2021 contains breakdowns of insolvency numbers and rates by location, age and gender for 2021
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Individual insolvencies by Parliamentary Constituency, England and Wales, 2011 to 2021 contains a time series with breakdowns of insolvency numbers and rates by country, region and parliamentary constituency
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Individual Insolvency Statistics by Ward, England and Wales, 2011 to 2021 contains a time series with breakdowns of insolvency numbers by ward
Main Messages:
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In 2021 the rate of individual insolvency in England and Wales was 23.3 per 10,000 adults, meaning that one in every 429 adults entered an insolvency procedure during that year.
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The total insolvency rate decreased for the second consecutive year, likely to have been partly driven by enhanced government financial support measures put in place to support individuals during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Rates of individual insolvency had been trending upwards between 2015 and 2019 with a rate increase of 49% over this period. This was followed by a decline of 9% in 2020 and a further decline of 1% in 2021.
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For the sixth year in a row, individuals in the North East of England had the highest individual insolvency rates (28.7 per 10,000 adults), while individuals in London had the lowest (16.3 per 10,000). London has been the region with the lowest rate of insolvency each year since the series began in 2000. The other seven English regions, as well as Wales, all had rates between 22.0 and 26.5 per 10,000. All regions saw higher insolvency rates compared to the five-year average, with the exception of the South West, Wales and the North East.
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Rates varied by local authority from 10.0 per 10,000 (1 in 1,002 adults) in Richmond upon Thames to 47.1 per 10,000 (1 in 212 adults) in North East Lincolnshire.
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The local authorities with the highest rates of individual insolvency were mainly in the North of England, ranging from North East Lincolnshire, to Blackpool, to Kingston upon Hull. The five local authorities with the lowest insolvency rates were London boroughs. The next lowest were Epsom and Ewell, Rushcliffe and St Albans.
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There were no large changes to the geographical distribution of insolvency rates in 2021 compared to the five-year average. For the majority of local authorities, differences in rates from the five-year average ranged from 5% lower to 10% higher.
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Rates varied by parliamentary constituency from 6.7 per 10,000 (1 in 1,486 adults) in Sheffield, Hallam to 61.4 per 10,000 (1 in 163 adults) in Great Grimsby.
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Most of the 10 parliamentary constituencies with the highest insolvency rates were in the North of England. Six out of the 10 parliamentary constituencies with the lowest insolvency rates were in London.
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The female insolvency rate (25.0 per 10,000) was higher than for males (21.5 per 10,000) for the eighth successive year. Females had a higher rate of insolvency than males, in all age groups except for those aged 65 and over. Women were more likely than men to have a debt relief order or individual voluntary arrangement, while men were more likely than women to become bankrupt. Historically, men were more likely to enter bankruptcy than get a debt relief order, however the reverse was true in 2021.
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Insolvency rates were highest for adults between 25 and 44 and lowest for adults aged 65 and over. This trend has been similar since 2006. However, the long-term trend does show an increase in insolvency rates for younger adults (18 to 34 year olds) and a decrease for older adults (55 years and older).
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Individual voluntary arrangements were the most common type of insolvency in all age groups. The proportion of individual voluntary arrangements was higher among younger adults, whereas the proportion of bankruptcies was higher in older adults.
Updates to this page
Last updated 31 March 2023 + show all updates
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Individual insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender tables have been updated to reflect 2021 population estimates for the calculation of rates. The 2022 versions of all tables included in this release are updated in the 'Individual insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2022' publication found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/individual-insolvencies-by-location-age-and-gender-england-and-wales-2022
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First published.