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Why is Halton the insolvency capital of England and Wales?

ended 28. September 2026

New Newspage analysis of Insolvency Service figures has found that Halton, the Cheshire borough covering Runcorn and Widnes, has had more personal insolvencies for its size than anywhere else in England and Wales over the past six years.

There were 3,062 individual insolvencies in Halton between 2020 and 2025. That is the equivalent of one for every 34 adults, and puts Halton first of 316 local authorities.

In 2025 alone, Halton's insolvency rate was 63.0 per 10,000 adults (one adult in 159), two and a half times the national rate of 25.3. Halton also had the highest debt relief order rate for the second year running. It has had the highest Breathing Space registration rate every year since the scheme began in 2021.

An IVA, debt relief order or bankruptcy stays on a credit file for six years from the date it starts. So people who have long since cleared their debts can still find themselves shut out of mainstream borrowing, including mortgages.

We want to hear from mortgage brokers, debt advisers, accountants and insolvency practitioners, especially those working in the North West.

Questions:

  1. Why do you think Halton, and towns like it, top the insolvency tables year after year? What are you seeing on the ground?
  2. How long after an IVA, DRO or bankruptcy can someone realistically get a mortgage, and what should they expect on deposit and rate?
  3. Is the six-year credit file rule fair when a DRO or bankruptcy is usually discharged after a year? Should it change?
  4. Are lenders becoming more or less willing to lend to people with a past insolvency?
  5. What practical steps should someone take now to rebuild their credit after an insolvency?
  6. Is Breathing Space helping people avoid formal insolvency, or only delaying it?

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Darryl DhofferVerified
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Halton most likely tops insolvency tables due to persistent socio-economic deprivation and low wages. For mortgages, specialist lenders typically consider applicants day 1 to three years post-discharge, requiring a 15 to 25 percent deposit and higher rates before mainstream options open up at six years. Remarkably, select lenders will even accept an active IVA as long as the Insolvency Practitioner approves it alongside a 30 percent deposit. Many view the six-year credit file rule as overly punitive for cases discharged after just one year. While high street lenders remain rigid, specialist lender appetites are growing. Anyone looking to rebuild their credit file, should fix credit errors, mark defaults as satisfied and register to vote. Meanwhile, Breathing Space provides vital breathing room from creditors, though it frequently only delays inevitable formal insolvency.
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Ranald MitchellVerified
Director at Charwin Mortgages
Insolvency is often the end of a long financial slide, not the beginning. There are genuine life events such as redundancy, illness or relationship breakdown, but there are also cases where people have become heavily dependent on credit for a long time before insolvency finally becomes unavoidable. More households are struggling month to month and using cards, overdrafts, BNPL and loans as a financial shock absorber until there is nowhere left to go. For homeowners, the mortgage can often continue normally if payments are maintained. The real problem comes afterwards. When someone wants to remortgage, raise capital, move home or simply get on with life, the post-insolvency mortgage market can be unforgiving. Lender choice narrows, rates can be higher and more equity may be needed. The crisis may be over, but the mortgage consequences can linger for years.
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Craig FishVerified
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
A past insolvency is not a life sentence for homeownership, but too many people in towns like Halton assume it is and never ask. Specialist lenders consider applicants once an IVA, DRO or bankruptcy is behind them, and the further back it sits, the better the terms. In the early years expect to need a bigger deposit and to pay a higher rate than the high street, then remortgage onto better deals as the record ages. Once it drops off after six years, mainstream lenders come back into play. The six-year rule feels harsh when a DRO or bankruptcy is often discharged after a year, and I'd like credit files to give more weight to how people have handled money since. Rebuilding starts today: get on the electoral roll, pay every bill on time, steer clear of payday loans and check your credit reports for errors. The worst move is applying to lender after lender and collecting rejections. Speak to a whole-of-market broker first, because the right lender is out there if you know where to look.
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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
Northwest based clients and contacts tell me the insolvency tables isn't a blip, it's structural. The North West's shift from industrial stronghold to low-wage service work leaves households with zero inflation buffer so inflationary spikes in energy, food, and basic necessities hit lower-income postcodes disproportionately. When disposable income is under £50–£100 a month, a single minor event (a broken boiler or car repair) pushes households from debt management to insolvency. The high DRO rate confirms it: renters, low assets, sub-£50,000 debts, taking the cleanest exit available. The mortgage road back is brutal. Breathing Space eases a shock, but against a structural deficit it just delays the inevitable.
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Matt CoulsonVerified
Founder at Heron Financial
The good news for anyone worried about getting a mortgage after an IVA or insolvency is that it rarely closes the door for good. While an IVA is running you won't get a mainstream mortgage, but once it has completed the options open up. Mainstream lenders generally want it satisfied and a few years of clean conduct behind you, while specialist lenders will often consider a case sooner. Expect to need a larger deposit and to pay a higher rate at first, both of which ease as the event ages and your recent record does the talking. The part I'd question is that the marker stays on your file for six years, when the insolvency itself is often discharged within one. For someone who has genuinely rebuilt, that can feel like being punished twice. The encouraging bit is that specialist lenders increasingly weigh the whole story and your recent conduct, so it isn't the last word. The steps are simple: let it age, keep everything spotless, and take advice on timing before you apply.
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Stephen PerkinsVerified
Norwich Mortgage Broker and Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Past insolvency does not mean someone will never get a mortgage, but timing matters. Being discharged from bankruptcy or finishing an IVA is not the same as the credit history disappearing, and lender appetite varies a lot. The longer someone can show clean conduct afterwards, the more options usually open up, particularly if they have rebuilt savings and kept every commitment up to date. Anyone in that position should check their credit files first, correct any errors and get advice before applying, because repeated failed applications can make an already difficult situation harder.
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Harvey DhillonVerified
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
The credit file rule isn't fair, and no Act of Parliament sets it, so it could change without waiting for new law. The public insolvency register takes a debt relief order off 3 months after it ends, yet the credit file keeps it for years afterwards. When the official register and a private credit file tell a lender different stories about the same debt, the harsher one should give way. If you've been made bankrupt, nobody tells the credit reference agencies directly when it ends, so get your credit file once you're discharged and send them the Insolvency Service's free letter confirming it. Get on the electoral roll as well. Breathing Space is a pause, not a cure: interest, charges and enforcement stop, but the debt and the repayments carry on. It clears no debt, so it buys time rather than a way out. It helps when the pause ends in a plan the person can afford, and the official statistics don't follow people afterwards to show how often that happens. That's a gap worth closing.