More people declared insolvent

The Insolvency Service said the number of personal insolvencies rose to 30,513 in the three months to June, up from 30,145 in the first quarter.

On a year-on-year basis the personal insolvency total fell by 12.2 per cent from this time in 2010.

There was another sharp fall in personal bankruptcies over the period, but this was offset by rises in Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Debt Relief Orders.

Personal insolvencies had fallen in each of the last three quarters prior to these latest figures despite the tough economic background, but even with the slight rise in the last quarter 2011 could see lowest annual total since 2008, insolvency practitioners suggest.

Companies going bust continued to rise both on a quarterly and yearly basis, with the number of company liquidations up by 112 on the first quarter at 4,233 and by 4.4 per cent on this time last year.

The number of firms entering administration fell, from 782 to 695 and down by almost 11 per cent on the previous year despite some big name casualties, especially among retailers with high street household names Habitat and Jane Norman both recently appointing administrators.

The Insolvency Practitioners Association said there were a number of potentially worrying trends not covered in the figures, such as the rise in payday loans and in voluntary schemes, where there is less legal protection.