R3 – the trade body for Insolvency Professionals

Personal insolvency rates drop across most of the Thames Valley

• 14 out of 18 local authorities show a decrease in individual insolvency rates
• Wokingham has the second lowest individual insolvency rates in England and Wales and the lowest rates in the Thames Valley
• Swindon sees the largest drop in individual insolvency rates but still retains the highest rate in the Thames Valley
• Vale of White Horse also sees a large decrease
• Reading has the biggest increase in individual insolvency rates in the Thames Valley

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 adult population 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 between 2013 and 2014.

A significant decrease was seen in West Berkshire, dropping from 19.2 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:

"Whilst it is encouraging to see the majority of local authority areas following a similar trend, these figures also make it clear that 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."                                   

Local authorities in the Thames Valley area	Rate per 10,000 adult population in 2013	Rate per 10,000 adult population in 2014	Notes
Swindon	34.4	28.5	Despite seeing the largest drop in personal insolvency between 2013 and 2014, Swindon continues to have the highest rates in the Thames Valley. It is the ranked 45th in the country for high rates of insolvencies.
Bracknell Forest	18.2	19.8	Insolvency rates in Bracknell Forest increased between 2013 and 2014.
West Berkshire	19.1	15.7	Insolvency rates in West Berkshire significantly decreased between 2013 and 2014.
Reading	14.5	18.2	Reading has seen the biggest increase in personal insolvency rates in the Thames Valley between 2013 and 2014.
Slough	19.5	18.2	Rates slightly decreased in Swindon from 2013 to 2014.
Windsor and Maidenhead	13.9	13.2	Windsor and Maidenhead shows a small decrease in insolvency rates, which are amongst the lowest in the Thames Valley
Wokingham	11.0	8.8	Wokingham has maintained its title of lowest insolvency rates in the Thames Valley and has the second lowest rate in the whole country.
Milton Keynes	21.4	23.4	This area has seen a slight increase from 2013 and continues to have the second highest rates in the Thames Valley.
Central Bedfordshire	20.1	19.6	This area has seen a slight decrease from 2013 which has seen it drop from third highest to fifth.
Aylesbury Vale	17.4	15.8	Rates in Aylesbury Vale decreased between 2013 and 2014.
Chiltern	14.4	11.9	Chiltern has the third lowest rates of insolvency in the Thames Valley.
South Bucks	16.9	14.3	There was a decrease in insolvency rates in this area last year.
Wycombe	13.9	11.8	A decrease in rates last year has seen this area become the second lowest area for personal insolvency.
Cherwell	17.9	17.0	Cherwell has seen a small decrease in insolvency rates.
Oxford	18.0	20.2	There has been an increase in personal insolvency rates in Oxford and is the third highest in the Thames Valley, moving up four places from 2013.
South Oxfordshire	15.3	14.5	This area has seen a slight decrease.
Vale of White Horse	16.7	12.3	Vale of White Horse has seen the second biggest decrease in personal insolvency in the Thames Valley.
West Oxfordshire	14.5	13.8	West Oxfordshire has seen a decrease in insolvency rates.