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<p>The Government is committed to helping people make good financial decisions, establishing
the Money and Pensions Service to provide free support and guidance on all aspects
of people’s financial lives. It has increased funding for the provision of debt advice
in each of the past two years rising to almost £56million this year in England, which
will deliver 560,000 debt advice sessions.</p><p> </p><p>Where individuals do get
into problem debt the government has announced it will deliver its manifesto commitment
for a Breathing Space scheme, which will protect debtors from creditor action, help
them get professional advice on their debt problems, and enable them to find an appropriate
and sustainable debt solution.</p><p> </p><p>The regional personal insolvency rate
increased in 2018, driven mainly by individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), with
all regions following the national trend.</p><p> </p><p>Historically, males had a
higher rate of insolvencies per 10,000 adults than females, but the gender gap noticeably
narrowed from 2009 onwards and, by 2014, females began to have higher insolvency rates
than males. This change coincided with a decline in the number of bankruptcies (where
males have a higher rate of insolvency), the introduction and growth in the number
of debt relief orders (where the rate for women is higher), and the narrowing and
subsequent reversal of the gender gap for IVAs.</p><p> </p><p>The latest data providing
a breakdown of individual insolvencies can be found in Individual Insolvencies by
Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2018; released on 17th July 2019 on the
GOV.UK website.</p>
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