Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Scottish personal insolvencies figures continued to decline in May 2021 according to the latest figures released by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service which administers company liquidations and receiverships in Scotland.
The figures showed that there were 7,215 personal insolvencies in the 12 months to May 2021 (inclusive), 5,423 (42.9%) fewer than in the previous 12 months.
Bankruptcies decreased by 39.7% in the 12 months to May 2021 when compared with the previous 12 months whilsy PTDs decreased by 44.5% over the same period.
There were 3,890 approved Debt Payment Programmes under the Debt Arrangement Scheme in the 12 months to May 2021 compared with 3,214 for the previous 12 months, an increase of 21.0%.
The introduction of new provisions on the statutory moratorium are part of emergency measures brought in by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 showed that up until 31st May 2021, 2,434 applications for moratoria had been granted under the new powers.
There were 225 applications for moratoria granted in May 2021 under the new legislation, 170 more than in May 2020. There were 2,319 applications for moratoria granted in the 12 months to May 2021 (inclusive) compared with 1,042 for the previous 12 months.
A revised bankruptcy application fee structure has been introduced, initially through the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020 and placed on permanent footing through the Bankruptcy (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. In the period between 27 May 2020 and 31 May 2021 a total of 2,314 bankruptcy awards were made following applications submitted to AiB, all through the revised fee structure. Of this total, 1,794 (77.5%) applicants were not required to pay any fee at all.
