R3 co-hosted a high-level political debate with senior politicians from the three major political parties on one of the biggest public policy debates of the day: solving the personal debt crisis. 

A successful personal insolvency regime must strike the right balance: on the one hand, it should allow people to get back on their own two feet by relieving their indebtedness, whilst on the other hand, it should seek to return to creditors what is owed to them.

In England and Wales, the debate about the rising cost of living and the pressures facing those living at the edge of their means has already been well documented. However little attention is given to what happens to those people once they go beyond that edge.

When evaluating the bankruptcy process, one of the central issues to be considered is how successfully it balances the competing interests of debtors and their creditors.

Over recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people struggling with their debts. As a consequence, there has been a personal insolvency explosion, with the number of formal insolvencies increasing by almost 300% since 2002. When an individual is struggling with their debts, there are a variety of options available to them, depending on their circumstances. Bankruptcy is just one debt solution, designed to free people from their debts after a period of time. In 2012, there were over 30,000 bankruptcies in England and Wales.