Reimagining Insolvency report launched

The Money Advice Trust launched its Reimagining Insolvency report in July 2025¹. The report was produced with Citizens Advice, according to the title of the linked document¹. It sets out a blueprint for what the charity describes as a simpler and more coherent insolvency framework for England and Wales¹.

The report proposes a single, flexible model with two pathways¹:

The Money Advice Trust says the Personal Insolvency Review, led by the Insolvency Service, has highlighted key challenges in the current framework in England and Wales, and that the Insolvency Service has underlined its view that significant reform is needed¹. The charity says it strongly agrees with that conclusion¹.

The report is described as a discussion document rather than a settled proposal, and the charity states it is seeking views on the blueprint¹. No date has been reported for any government response to the report, and no timetable for reform of the insolvency framework appears in the material published by the Trust¹.

The Trust's wider research programme covers debt and credit, and its stated aim is to improve money advice as well as understanding of the debt environment¹. Its published work includes analysis of debt and council tax arrears, with the Trust reporting that arrears levels reached a record breaking £4.4 billion in England alone¹.

Why it matters for households

The report concerns the framework that applies when someone in England and Wales cannot pay their debts and needs a formal route out, such as bankruptcy or an individual voluntary arrangement. The two pathways described would change what that route looks like: one for people with no realistic means to repay, keeping a 12-month moratorium period, and one for people with sufficient surplus income, involving contributions over a maximum term before the remaining debt is written off¹.

The proposals are not in force. They are a set of ideas put forward for discussion, so the current rules continue to apply for anyone dealing with problem debt now¹. The report does not set out eligibility criteria, income thresholds or the length of the maximum repayment term, and none of those details appear in the published summary¹.

The wider context given by the Trust is that arrears are high: it reports that arrears levels reached a record breaking £4.4 billion in England alone¹. Its separate research on council tax in England found that half (49%) of adults in England had not heard of Local Council Tax Support, also called Council Tax Reduction, and that three quarters (74%) of people made liable for their annual bill said they fell behind on other household bills in order to make their payments to the council¹. That report was launched in February 2026¹.

What happens next

The Trust says it is keen to get thoughts on the blueprint as it seeks to refine it further and build consensus for a new approach¹. No consultation closing date, no legislative timetable and no government commitment to the proposals have been reported¹.