Official Statistics

Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes 2022/23

Statistics on new outcomes resulting from the enforcement activities of the Insolvency Service.

From:
The Insolvency Service
Published
12 May 2022
Last updated
18 April 2023 — See all updates

Documents

Commentary - Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes 2022/23

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Data Tables in Excel (xlsx) Format - Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes 2022-23

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Data Tables in Open Document (ods) Format - Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes 2022-23

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Methodology and Quality Document - Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes

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Guide to Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes

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Pre-release Access List - Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes 2022/23

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Details

  • During 2022/23, 932 directors were disqualified under the Company Directors Disqualification Act (CDDA) 1986 as a result of the work of the Insolvency Service. The number of director disqualifications in 2022/23 was higher than in 2021/22. Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of disqualifications had been stable at between 1,200 and 1,300 between 2013/14 and 2019/20. Lower numbers in the past three years coincided with historically low numbers of company insolvencies during the pandemic, along with the time gap between insolvency and the completion of investigations and subsequent proceedings.

  • The mean average length of director disqualification in 2022/23 was 7 years and 4 months. This is higher than in previous years and is linked to an increase in the number of disqualifications relating to COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse, which to date have tended to result in longer than average disqualification periods. In each of the previous ten financial years, the average length had been between 5 years and 5 months, and 6 years.

  • More than half of Section 6 director disqualifications in 2022/23 (459 out of 893) included an allegation relating to COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse. The second most common was the 185 allegations relating to ‘Unfair Treatment of the Crown’.

  • During 2022/23, 49 companies were wound up in the public interest. This was similar to numbers in the previous three financial years. Numbers of these orders declined followed a legislative change in 2016, which increased the number of regulatory and enforcement bodies to which the Insolvency Service could disclose material. In some cases, allowing disclosure to these additional bodies has been more effective than winding up the company.

  • During 2022/23, 250 individuals entered bankruptcy or debt relief restrictions orders and undertakings. This was a record low in the time series going back to 2009/10, down from the 319 in 2021/22. The lower numbers of restrictions orders and undertakings coincided with a fall in the number of bankruptcies during the same period to the lowest level for more than 30 years.

  • The mean average length of bankruptcy and debt relief restrictions in 2022/23 was 6 years and 4 months. As with director disqualifications, this is longer than in previous years and is linked to an increase in the number of restrictions relating to COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse, which to date have tended to result in longer than average restriction periods.

  • As at 31 March 2023, there were more than 6,200 former directors with active disqualifications and over 1,800 individuals subject to bankruptcy and debt relief restrictions.

  • During 2022/23, 69 individuals facing criminal charges brought by the Insolvency Service were convicted and none were acquitted. This was lower than last year, when courts were clearing a backlog linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is similar to 2019/20 (the most recent pre-pandemic financial year).

  • There were 178 separate penalties imposed in 2022/23 relating to charges brought by the Insolvency Service. Seventy-three of these were financial orders, such as fines and cost orders. The next most common sentence types were 38 of immediate imprisonment and 37 community orders.

Updates to this page

Published 12 May 2022
Last updated 18 April 2023 + show all updates

  1. Publication of annual tables and commentary

  2. Added data for February 2023

  3. Added data for January 2023

  4. Added data for December 2022

  5. Added data for November 2022

  6. Added data for October 2022

  7. Tables updated to include September 2022 statistics. An additional column has been added to table 1a showing the number of disqualifications of directors of dissolved companies.

  8. Added data for August 2022

  9. Added data for July 2022

  10. Tables updated to include June 2022 statistics. An additional table (Table 3b) has been added, showing the allegation types in bankruptcy and debt relief restrictions orders and undertakings - this was previously included only in the annual release.

  11. Tables updated to include May 2022 statistics

  12. First published.

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