Next month, the Insolvency Service will publish its latest figures, revealing how many new insolvency cases began in the third quarter of 2010.

The term 'insolvencies', of course, doesn't just apply to IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements).

It applies to bankruptcies, IVAs, Protected Trust Deeds and DROs (Debt Relief Orders), since the Insolvency Service provides statistics for all four of the countries in the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• In England and Wales, people with serious debt problems may be able to enter bankruptcy, an IVA or a DRO.

• In Scotland, bankruptcy is often called sequestration, and IVAs don't exist at all - although Scottish residents may be able to enter a Trust Deed (which is similar to an IVA in many ways) if they're in financial trouble and can't repay their debts.

• In Northern Ireland, IVAs and bankruptcy exist, but DROs have not been introduced (so far).

Third-quarter IVA figures

On 5th November, we'll see how many people ended up entering insolvency between July and September this year.

Looking just at England and Wales, the figures for the second quarter of 2010 were unusual in quite a few ways:

• The number of IVAs hit an all-time high of 13,466 - an increase of 14% on the 11,782 IVAs that began in the first quarter of the year.

• The number of DROs also hit an all-time high (although this isn't as significant as it is with IVAs, as this was only the fifth quarter since DROs were introduced). In Q2, there were 6,295 DROs - a 12% increase on the previous quarter and a massive 218% increase on the second quarter of 2009 (when they were introduced).

• The number of bankruptcies actually dropped in Q2, to 14,982. In fact, we saw fewer bankruptcies than we've seen in any quarter since the end of 2007.

• Thanks to the fall in bankruptcies, the total number of insolvencies in England and Wales dropped to 34,743 - not just lower than the 35,682 in the previous quarter, but lower than in either of the two quarters before that. This was the first quarter since the end of 2007 in which the number of bankruptcies didn't increase on a quarterly basis.

A note from the IVA Forum

An expert at the IVA Forum commented: "It's important not to forget R3's warning about 'insolvency lag' - the fact that there's usually a gap between the end of a recession and the peak in numbers of people (and companies) entering insolvency. As we deal with the after-effects of the recent recession, it's likely we'll see a great many people entering an IVA, a DRO or bankruptcy as a result of problems that have been affecting them for some time."