New figures show a fall in the number of people in the Highland local authority area plunging into insolvency.
The latest report from the Accountant in Bankruptcy shows the overall rate of personal insolvencies dropping across Scotland, with Highland experiencing a fall of 6.9% for the year 2015/16.
The overall rate of total personal insolvencies in Scotland, which include both bankruptcies and protected trust deeds, has decreased by a quarter in the last financial year from 25.13 per 10,000 adults to 19 per 10,000.
This decrease was driven by a 44.2% reduction in the rate of bankruptcies since the previous year with the amount of people being sequestrated dropping across the board in all 32 local authority regions of Scotland.
Welcoming the figures, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “In the context of the continued challenging economic environment, it is really important we ensure that all those individuals who need them have access to fair debt relief and debt management processes.
“Building on our fundamental reforms to the bankruptcy system in Scotland in the last parliament, we will continue to work with businesses and charities to make the support we can offer to those in problem debt as relevant and helpful as it can be, whilst making sure that those individuals who can pay their debts, do so.”
The rate of protected trust deeds per 10,000 adults in Scotland has remained constant in 2015/16. In the Highland region, the rate of protected trust deeds increased from 7.77 to 8.03 per 10,000 from the previous financial year.
