Just days after it was revealed that Scottish people have taken on more debt than the rest of Britain, it has now emerged that bankruptcy cases north of the border have soared dramatically in the last few months.
Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB), the body responsible for personal insolvency in Scotland, recorded an increase of 25 per cent in the number of people filing or being pushed into bankruptcy in the last four months. A total of 5,000 people were declared bankrupt in Scotland between the months of April and June this year, a figure which is down 1 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year but is very worrying nonetheless.
This increase mirrors the findings of similar research by the insolvency group R3, which revealed that 539,000 Scots have seen their debt problems worsen in the last three months. These people admitted taking on more credit card debt as well as loans and increased overdrafts in order to cover their spending and outgoings.
One charity that is dealing with the crisis, Money Advice Scotland, expressed concern at these recent findings but warned that the debt management situation in Scotland could get worse before any improvement can be seen. Convenor of the charity’s board, Christine Sinclair, explained:
“Increases in the cost of living, people struggling to pay credit cards and loans will have a bigger impact to come on people with debt problems. Yes we have seen some impact already, but with the big rises in utilities, gas and electricity, I think it will actually get worse before it gets better.”
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