An annual decline in the total figures had continued steadily since 2010, in parallel with improving economic factors, bar a couple of quarter blips, such as rising employment and GDP.

But now the Insolvency Services official statistics point to a new pattern for this year, and they probably ask as many questions about the state of individuals finances as they answer.

The top line was that 90,930 people became insolvent during the full year of 2016 – the first annual increase since 2010. This was also a 13 percent rise on 2015.

This total comprised 49,745 IVAs, which were up 23 percent year-on-year and returned to levels generally seen from 2009 to 2014.

IVAs were the main driver of the annual rise though an overall bounce i…

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