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The struggle to pay off debts in the recession has made “financial breakdown” more common than divorce for the first time, official figures revealed today.
The number of people in England and Wales forced into insolvency rose by a quarter to a record 134,142 last year, one every four minutes.
By contrast the number of couples divorcing dropped sharply to 121,779, a 33-year low, according to the latest government statistics.
Experts blamed the insolvency landmark — equivalent to the adult population of a borough the size of Hammersmith & Fulham — on borrowers “living beyond their means” in the era of easy credit.
The total is made up of 74,670 bankruptcies, 47,641 Individual Voluntary Arrangements — a form of “bankruptcy lite” agreed between borrowers and their creditors — and 11,831 Debt Relief Orders, a scheme aimed at those with debts of less than £15,000.
Insolvency trade body R3 said nearly a million people were struggling with debts without seeking help.
Reader views (2)
Just wait untill the interest rates and inflation rates start to rise, and they have a long way to go up, then these few insolvencies will appear as a mere indication of the future.
We will all pay for the poor economy, but those that have bought properties, goods and leasure activities without the means to pay for them outright will be well and truly stuffed.
Hopefully the benifits system will be scrapped, or at least cut beyond the bone so that I am not supporting these wasters out of my tax.
- Jimmy, London, 05/02/2010 14:12
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"Experts blamed the insolvency landmark — equivalent to the adult population of a borough the size of Hammersmith & Fulham — on borrowers “living beyond their means” in the era of easy credit."
How about the fact that becoming Bankrupt is easier than ever and the average Bankruptcy lasts just 7 months?
- Bj, East London, 05/02/2010 13:46
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