THE number of people plunging into insolvency in North Ayrshire has fallen.
New figures from Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) show the overall rate of personal insolvencies has dropped across Scotland - with North Ayrshire seeing a 5.8 per cent fall for 2015/16.

The AiB Statutory Debt Solutions report outlines the rate per 10,000 of the adult population for bankruptcies, protected trust deeds and debt payment programmes.

This is under the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) for every local authority in Scotland compared to the previous year.

North Ayrshire’s bankruptcy rate fell by 27.5 per cent from the previous year.
Overall, the number of personal insolvencies in Scotland dropped from 25 per cent per 10,000 adults to 19 per cent.

A 44 per cent reduction in bankruptcies was also reported with the amount of people being sequestrated dropping across the board.

Welcoming the figures, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse MSP said: “In the context of the continued challenging economic environment, it is really important we ensure that all those individuals who need them have access to fair debt relief and debt management processes.  

“Building on our fundamental reforms to the bankruptcy system in Scotland in the last parliament, we will continue to work with businesses and charities to make the support we can offer to those in problem debt as relevant and helpful as it can be, whilst making sure that those individuals who can pay their debts, do so.”

The rate of protected trust deeds per 10,000 adults in Scotland has remained constant in 2015/16. 

In North Ayrshire, the rate of protected trust deeds increased to 13 per 10,000 from the previous financial year.

The rate of people entering a DAS in North Ayrshire fell from 9.19 per cent to 3.81 per cent on the previous financial year.