The total insolvency rate in 2015 continued to decrease in all regions across the country, but for the second year in a row the female insolvency rate was higher than the male insolvency rate, according to analysis from the Insolvency Service
The department has provided breakdowns of individual insolvencies in England and Wales, at region, county, unitary authority and local authority levels for the period 2000 - 2015. It also details age and gender breakdowns of individual insolvencies at region level. The statistics cover the calendar years 2000 to 2015.
They show insolvency rates declining over a seven year period, although the north east continued to have the highest insolvency rates, while London had the lowest. Nine out of ten local authorities with the lowest insolvency rates were in the South East or London whilst six out of ten areas with the highest rates were coastal.
Insolvency rates decreased for all age bands, but were highest in the 35-44 age bracket for both males and females.
The individual insolvency rate per 10,000 adults was higher for females (18.2) than males (16.9). This is primarily because a higher proportion of females than males had debt relief orders (DROs) approved.
The male and female individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) rates were equal in 2015. Men continued to have a higher rate for bankruptcies whilst women continued to have a higher rate for DROs.
Insolvency rates were higher for females than males for all age groups except 55-64 and 65+.
Mark Sands, personal insolvency partner at RSM said: ‘In 2014, for the first time, more women than men entered into some kind of formal insolvency process. The latest statistics for 2015 show that this wasn’t just a blip.
‘It’s not clear from these figures exactly why this is the case. A number of social and economic factors could be at play here – a difference in living costs, an imbalance in pay between the genders, and the impact of women taking time out of work to have children could all play a role.
‘What’s interesting is that there is a far higher proportion of women entering into DROs than men, while more men than women go bankrupt. As DROs are available to those with smaller debts (totalling less than £20,000) this could indicate that women are more inclined to tackle problem debt at an earlier stage than men.’
The Insolvency Service has developed an interactive analysis tool for further analysis, allowing users view statistics for their chosen local authority, county or region as well as comparing statistics from up to three other areas.
The statistics on individual insolvencies by location, age and gender are here.
The interactive analysis tool is here.
