A record number of Debt Relief Orders (DROs) were taken out in April, as the £90 fee for the insolvency option was scrapped.
DROs are available to those on low incomes and clear existing debt on everything from council tax to energy bills and rent.
Some 3,436 DROs were taken out in April – the highest monthly number since they were introduced in 2009, figures from the Insolvency Service show.
It drove a rise in the total number of insolvencies in England and Wales, up 10% on the previous month and 4% higher than April last year.
Following an announcement in the Budget, the government scrapped the £90 fee to apply for a DRO in England and Wales on 6 April.
The number taken out that month was then 63% higher than the monthly average over the…
