Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Statistics: Annual edition

Data Sources

The statistics for Scottish statutory debt solutions (bankruptcies, PTDs, and DAS) are derived from administrative data of records processed within AiB and stored on the systems BASYS, ASTRA and eDEN (formerly DASH) respectively. Note DASH was decommissioned on 30 June 2019 and its replacement system, eDEN, went live on 1 July 2019.

The exception to this is creditor and trustee petition bankruptcies which are sourced from the courts that grant them and subsequently stored on the BASYS system.

The statistics for statutory moratorium on diligence are also derived from administrative data of records processed within AiB and stored on the Register of Insolvencies.

Corporate insolvencies are derived from administrative records provided by the courts and insolvency professionals (liquidators and receivers). Note that corporate insolvency statistics published by AiB may differ from equivalent statistics from the UK Government, through The Insolvency Service, as their data is sourced from their own administrative systems and Companies House. There is a time lag between the dates when a corporate insolvency is awarded or a member voluntary liquidation is registered and when AiB receives notice. Differences between sets of these statistics are mainly due to AiB using its own administrative system’s data.

Methodology

Figures are produced from tabulation of raw data from relevant administrative systems for bankruptcies, PTDs, DPPs under DAS, statutory moratoria on diligence and corporate insolvencies.

The numbers of personal insolvencies reported are based on the date of the court order, agreement of the insolvency procedure or approval date.

For creditor petitions, the published figures will be influenced by, for example, the late reporting of court orders which may lead to underestimating the number of creditor petitions awarded. Creditor petitions statistics are subsequently adjusted after the final quarterly release of the financial year. The revised figures are reflected in the next annual report of the financial year and the first quarterly report of the next financial year.

The number of DPPs under DAS reported are based on the date the DPP was approved. The number of statutory moratorium on diligence reported are based on the date the granted moratorium was submitted. Corporate insolvencies are based on the date the insolvency was registered in AiB’s administrative recording system.

General Revisions and Corrections

With the exception of statistics already reported in the quarterly Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Statistics publications, figures presented in this Excel file for all financial years remain provisional and subject to revision.

Sometimes when quality assuring the data for the latest years, errors in data classifications applied to any type of statutory debt solutions, statutory moratorium on diligence, or any type of corporate insolvency may come to light. In this case, we may correct the erroneous data classifications in previous year and we will alert users of our statistics about such corrections.

Quality

Relevance

Relevance is the degree to which statistics meet the current and potential needs of user.

The statistics produced by AiB are the most complete record of the number of statutory debt solutions and statutory moratoria on diligence. Statistics on corporate insolvencies are also included.

The statistics presented here do not include non-statutory debt solutions. This is where debtors make their own arrangements with creditors or enter informal debt management plans with a debt management firm. The demand for statutory debt solutions should be seen within the context of the overall debt solution market (both statutory and non-statutory solutions).

This demand will be affected by changes in the legislative and regulatory environment. For example, changes to the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory procedures could affect the supply of non-statutory solutions and in turn the demand for statutory debt solutions.

Key users of AiB’s insolvency statistics are: AiB itself, which has policy responsibility for statutory debt solutions in Scotland and devolved areas of corporate insolvency; the insolvency profession; debt advice agencies; media organisations; academics; creditors and the general public.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the closeness between an estimated result and the (unknown) true value.

All formal insolvency procedures entered into by a company, a partnership or an individual are required by law to be reported to the appropriate body, so the statistics should be a complete record of statutory insolvency in Scotland.

The number of statutory debt solutions and statutory moratoria on diligence are based on the date of the order, agreement of the insolvency procedure or the approval date, not on the date it was registered on the administrative recording system. This does not have any implications for cases processed within AiB. However, the published number of creditor petitions will be influenced by, for example, the late reporting of creditor petition court orders, which may lead to missing data. Under the current revision policy, figures on the number of creditor petitions are revised quarterly to account for late reporting or missing cases.

The number of corporate insolvencies is based on the date the insolvency was registered on the AiB corporate insolvency recording system (BASYS). The corporate insolvency figures will be influenced by, for example, the late reporting of orders which may lead to a quarter’s figures containing cases awarded in the previous quarter. This should be noted when making comparisons of trends over time or comparing with other sources of data published by The Insolvency Service, and Companies House.

Data validation processes are in place to identify and resolve erroneous data inputs and duplication of cases or when extracting data from the administrative systems, to make sure that returns cover all debt solutions, and to check the accuracy and consistency within tables and between related tables.

Timeliness and punctuality

Timeliness refers to the time gap between the publication date and the reference period for the statistics.

Punctuality is the time lag between the actual and planned dates of publication for the statistics.

The Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Annual Statistics are expected to be published on the first Wednesday of August following the end of the financial year being reported on. This publication date allows receipt of all the data inputs and sufficient time for quality assurance of the data extracts, tabulating records and completing the compilation of the statistical release. This means there is an approximate three month lag between the end of the financial quarter and the publication of the Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Annual Statistics.

The exact publication date will be pre-announced through a 12-month release calendar, giving a specific release date at least four weeks in advance where practical – Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot

Accessibility and clarity

Accessibility is the ease with which users can access the statistics and data. It is also about the format in which data is available and the availability of supporting information.*

Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the commentary, illustrations, accompanying advice and technical details.

The Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Annual Statistics are available free of charge to the end user on the AiB website. They are published as HTML and a Word document via the website and ScotStat. The accompanying tables are also published in the Excel format. Contact details can be found at the beginning of our publication report for any specific data requests.

It is important to ensure that statistics are presented in a clear, unambiguous way that supports and promotes use by all types of users. To this end, we have adopted the use of plain language as much as possible. The main findings are presented using a series of text and charts. Technical terms, acronyms and definitions are defined and explained when this is appropriate. These approaches would ensure that the statistics can be used effectively.

However, AiB does want readers’ and users’ feedback on any aspect of these statistics, and encourage them to complete our online survey or get in touch with us. Contact details and link to the online survey can be found at the beginning of our publication report.

Comparability

Comparability is the degree to which statistics can be compared over time, region or another domain.

Statutory debt solutions statistics can be compared between different type of debt solutions. They can be used to identify trends over time.

However, changes in legislation and policy may affect the extent to which comparisons can be made over time for individual data series. Such change might cause breaks in time series so that statistics from before and after the change are not comparable. Where such changes are known, they have been highlighted in the commentary and in the general background notes along with the implications for use made clear.

Coherence

Coherence is the degree to which the statistical processes that generate two or more outputs use the same concepts and harmonised methods.

Overall, the Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Statistics are the definitive source of statistics for statutory debt solutions in Scotland. The Insolvency Service include figures from the Scottish Statutory Debt Solutions Quarterly Statistics publications in their official statistics releases on individual insolvencies - Individual Insolvency Statistics Releases - GOV.UK

It is important to note that the operational, policy and legislative differences in all nations of UK, and users should be mindful of this caveat when making comparisons with other parts of the UK.

AiB publishes year end totals of the quarterly statistics in this annual publication. These numbers may differ slightly to those reported throughout the year, but the annual statistics are subsequently revised to match. In these annual publications, statistics by local authority areas are included and this is achieved by matching the postcode with the Standard Geography Code Register: statistics.gov.scot : Standard Geography Code Register. This Register contains the standard statistical blocks which are Output Areas, Data Zones and Intermediate Zones, and these blocks are derived from Scotland’s 2011 Census geographies. Adopting the standard geography code ensures geographical harmonisation and coherence, enabling the data to be consistent over time between local authority areas within Scotland. Note, when producing statistics by local authority areas, numbers may differ slightly as postcodes of debtors cannot always be assigned, where this occurs these differences will be highlighted.

Overall, the annual experimental and quarterly official statistics are the definitive source of statistics for statutory debt solutions in Scotland.

AiB is required to be notified of all company liquidations and receiverships in Scotland, and publishes quarterly official statistics based on its own administrative records. These differ from the Insolvency Service’s Insolvency Statistics publications, which use data from Companies House as the source. Differences are due to AiB using its own administrative system’s data rather than the start date of the insolvency.