Insolvency rates for businesses and individuals have increased slightly in the last three months, but the long-term trend looks more positive, reveal the latest figures from the Insolvency Service (IS).

Thes IS figures show there were 3,978 compulsory liquidations and creditors' voluntary liquidations in total in England and Wales in Q2 2013. This was an increase of 10.5% on the previous quarter, but 2.1% less than the same quarter a year ago.

Additionally, there were 974 other corporate insolvencies, made up of 192 receiverships, 622 administrations and 160 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs). In total these represented a decrease of 25.6% on the same period a year ago, though the IS says the scale of this decrease is influenced by the unusually high number of CVAs in Q2 2012.

The figures indicate there were 25,717 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in Q2 2013. This was a decrease of 6.1% on the same period a year ago, but was higher than the Q1 2013 total of 25,016. There was a sharp drop (20%) in the number of bankruptcies compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year, along with a 10.4% decrease in Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and a 6.8% rise in Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs).

Mark Sands, head of personal insolvency at RSM Tenon said: 'While a decrease in bankruptcies is usually compensated by an increase in DROs, this is not the case for the last quarter and reassuringly, shows an overall fall in the number of people defaulting on their personal debts compared to this time last year. Furthermore, with a record number of those in debt choosing IVAs in the last quarter, it is more than reasonable to assume that consumer confidence is growing as people are opting to repay debts over five years of an IVA, rather than declaring themselves bankrupt.'

However, analysis by Deloitte suggested personal insolvency is now at levels last seen in 2008 and 'may be heading in a new direction of travel'. Views on the trends in corporate insolvency were also mixed.

Mike Jervis, business recovery partner at PwC, said: 'This increase is in corporate failures is surprising in light of the recent GDP figures. It's unusual to see insolvencies rise from Q1 to Q2. The first quarter has historically been the peak for insolvencies. Drilling down into the numbers, this is being spurred by increases in the retail and property sectors.'

Mark Firmin, KPMG's UK regions head of restructuring, said the figures showed the fourth consecutive quarter of recovery in construction, which is a recognised barometer of wider economic health.

'However, it's a delicate situation given there is slight rise of 12% in total administrations compared to the first quarter of the year and several sectors are still experiencing rising insolvency levels, indicating significant ongoing pressure. The numbers could go either way in the coming quarters - like the UK GDP data, we are seeing fractional improvements that, while moving broadly in the right direction are by no means decisive,' Firmin said.