Consultation on changes to Insolvency Service Official Statistics
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Detail of outcome
The Insolvency Service aims to produce high-quality statistics that are trusted and meet the needs of a wide range of users. From May to June 2023 we consulted on proposed changes to Insolvency Service Official Statistics publications to help achieve these aims. These consultation responses have been considered in conjunction with information gathered through a user survey at the end of 2022. We have also reviewed web analytics and assessed ad-hoc queries received over the past three years.
Five organisations responded to the consultation. We thank these organisations for their time on producing considered and detailed responses, which were valuable in making decisions on changes to the statistics publications.
While the formal consultation has ended, the Insolvency Service is committed to continuous improvement of its statistics publications and welcomes feedback and suggestions to statistics@insolvency.gov.uk at any time.
Four proposals were included in the consultation:
Discontinue the monthly and annual Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes publications, and instead publish management information tables on a monthly basis.
No responses to the consultation objected to this course of action. We have announced the discontinuation of these Official Statistics following the next monthly tables update on 11 August 2023, with monthly management information tables to be published from September.
Combine monthly and quarterly Insolvency Statistics, maintaining the overall frequency as monthly, but providing additional detailed statistics on a quarterly basis.
Responses to this were positive, with no objections to merging the publications. Therefore, these publications will be merged, with the first combined publication likely to be published in either January or April 2024. Some responses requested that information currently published only quarterly be published monthly instead and we have responded in detail in the link above.
Improve the provision of statistics relating to individual insolvency, including increased focus on individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and debt relief orders (DROs)
The proposed changes were largely welcomed, particularly around the provision of increased information relating to IVAs, with some caveats relating to how the information is presented. However, some respondents requested the retention of information relating to income payment orders and agreements. Respondents also requested additional information relating to bankruptcies and DROs. We will proceed with most of the changes to individual insolvency information proposed in the consultation, but with some alterations in light of the consultation responses. We have provided details about this in the link above.
Other methodology and content changes to Insolvency Statistics.
Respondents provided some challenges and some support to proposals in this section. For example, there were varying views on whether liquidation rates or corporate insolvency rates encompassing all forms of corporate insolvencies, not just liquidations, were more appropriate to present. We have outlined our planned course of action in the link above.
The consultation also asked users whether there were any gaps in the coverage of Insolvency Service Official Statistics. We have summarised user responses to this, as well as our planned course of action, in the link above.
Original consultation
Consultation description
We propose to make the following changes to Insolvency Service Official Statistics:
- Discontinue the monthly and annual Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes publications, and instead publish management information tables on a monthly basis.
- Combine monthly and quarterly Insolvency Statistics, maintaining the overall frequency as monthly, but providing additional detailed statistics on a quarterly basis.
- Improve the provision of statistics relating to individual insolvency, including increased focus on individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and debt relief orders (DROs)
- Other methodology and content changes to Insolvency Statistics.
Any decisions about whether to change the content or frequency of official statistics will be informed by responses to this consultation.
Full details can be found in the HTML document below.
Documents
Last updated 28 July 2023 + show all updates
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Response to the consultation added.
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First published.