Thames Valley: R3 reports drop in personal insolvency rates

New figures reporting the number of individual insolvencies show a positive outlook for the Thames Valley.

The Southern Region Thames Valley Group of R3, which brings together insolvency specialists from across Berkshire and Hampshire, says the statistics indicate a drop in individual insolvency rates across the majority of local authority areas.

The regional insolvency statistics show the rate of individual insolvencies per 10,000 adults and are broken down into local authority areas. An individual insolvency is counted as a person who has either been made bankrupt or under a Debt Relief Order (DRO) or Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA).

In the Thames Valley, Wokingham has the lowest rate (8.8) and is second only to Wandsworth (8.2) in the whole of England and Wales.

Despite showing the largest decrease between 2013 (34.4) and 2014 (28.5), Swindon has continued to show the highest rates of individual insolvency in the Thames Valley. This places it in the top 50 highest rates for local authorities in England and Wales.

The most significant increase came from Reading, from 14.5 in 2013 to 18.2 in 2014, despite neighbours Slough, South Oxfordshire, and Windsor and Maidenhead showing decreases. Other local authorities reporting an increase in rates were Bracknell Forest, Milton Keynes and Oxford.

Bracknell Forest saw the smallest increase in the Thames Valley of 1.6 individual insolvencies per 10,000 people. Milton Keynes increased from 21.4 in 2013 to 23.4 in 2014, and Oxford jumped from 18.0 to 20.2.

A significant decrease was seen in West Berkshire, dropping from 19.1 in 2013 to 15.7 in 2014. Rates have been decreasing in West Berkshire since 2010. Aylesbury Vale, South Bucks, Cherwell, West Oxfordshire and Wycombe have also continued to decrease.

Central Bedfordshire saw a small decrease last year from 20.1 to 19.6, following an increase the previous year.

Over in Chiltern, rates have improved for the second year in a row after an increase in 2012.

Julia Branson, partner at James Cowper Kreston and member of the Southern Region Thames Valley Group of R3, said: "While it is encouraging to see the majority of local authority areas following a similar trend, these figures also make it clear that there is a significant difference between areas.

"Wokingham, for example, is leading the way with a decrease to 8.8 individual insolvencies per 10,000 people, but less than 10 miles away, in Reading, we have seen the highest increase in rates in the Thames Valley. Each local authority area has its own economic, social and geographic factors that have an impact on individual insolvencies, which is why even some neighbouring areas can have huge differences."