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Breathing Space Statistics

How many people use the Breathing Space debt respite scheme each month and year, including mental health crisis cases, by advice provider and by age.

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Things to know about IVAs

An IVA is a formal insolvency procedure. It must be approved by your creditors, stays on your credit file for six years, fees are taken from your payments, and debts are only written off if you complete it. It isn’t right for everyone.

Read the key risks
  • Creditors must approve it. An IVA only goes ahead if creditors holding at least 75% of the debt that is voted agree. Your proposal can be rejected.
  • Credit file and public register. An IVA stays on your credit file for six years from the start date and is listed on the public Individual Insolvency Register while it runs. Getting credit will be harder.
  • Spending restrictions and annual reviews. You live on an agreed budget for the length of the IVA (usually 5–6 years). Your income and spending are reviewed each year, and your payment can go up.
  • Fees. Fees are taken from your monthly payments, so less of what you pay reaches your creditors. How IVA fees work.
  • Your home. Under the current IVA Protocol, your home isn’t included in the IVA and you won’t be asked to remortgage. If your share of the equity is £10,000 or more, the IVA usually lasts six years instead of five.
  • If it fails. If you can’t keep up payments the IVA may fail, you would owe the remaining debt again, and the supervisor may petition for your bankruptcy.
  • Write-off only on completion. Remaining qualifying unsecured debts are only written off if the IVA is completed successfully. Secured debts, court fines, child maintenance, student loans and some other debts can’t be included.
  • Other options may suit you better. A debt management plan, DRO or bankruptcy may be more suitable. IVAs are available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only; different solutions apply in Scotland.

Last updated: 28 October 2026 · Latest data: September 2026 · Compiled by IVA Advice Online from Insolvency Service official statistics

Breathing Space (the Debt Respite Scheme) gives people in problem debt legal protection from most creditor action while they get advice. This page tracks how many people use it each month and year, how many are in mental health crisis, which advice organisations register the most cases, and which age groups use it most.

89,130Breathing Space registrations in 2025
45,419registrations January to September 2026, 35% fewer than a year earlier
423,872registrations since the scheme started in May 2021

Monthly Breathing Space registrations

Breathing Space registrations per month, England and WalesStandardMental health crisis
View monthly figures as a table
MonthTotalStandardMental health crisis
Jan 20237,5847,48797
Feb 20237,3127,173139
Mar 20238,2828,110172
Apr 20236,6136,485128
May 20236,6836,60974
Jun 20237,9357,824111
Jul 20237,7947,660134
Aug 20237,6077,488119
Sep 20237,6907,573117
Oct 20237,6377,509128
Nov 20237,4847,351133
Dec 20235,7695,657112
Jan 20248,3578,232125
Feb 20248,0737,964109
Mar 20247,7107,610100
Apr 20247,6507,548102
May 20247,6527,547105
Jun 20246,9736,87697
Jul 20247,3697,244125
Aug 20247,2567,138118
Sep 20246,8556,76194
Oct 20247,7717,664107
Nov 20247,7057,585120
Dec 20245,6495,56386
Jan 20258,2408,15090
Feb 20257,8897,775114
Mar 20258,0337,932101
Apr 20257,2737,170103
May 20257,8047,683121
Jun 20257,6377,535102
Jul 20258,3998,285114
Aug 20257,3957,290105
Sep 20257,6847,58995
Oct 20257,7017,571130
Nov 20257,1917,047144
Dec 20253,8843,78698
Jan 20265,0084,900108
Feb 20265,1014,996105
Mar 20265,4645,326138
Apr 20264,8624,736126
May 20264,8174,693124
Jun 20264,7584,620138
Jul 20265,2485,098150
Aug 20265,0124,871141
Sep 20265,1495,021128

Source: Insolvency Service, individual insolvency statistics, September 2026, Table 6.1 Not seasonally adjusted.

  • There were 5,149 registrations in September 2026, compared with 7,684 in September 2025.1
  • The busiest month since 2023 was July 2025, with 8,399 registrations.1
  • Registrations have fallen since late 2025. StepChange, which registers most Breathing Spaces, updated its suitability criteria for clients in November 2025, which led to fewer applications.1

Breathing Space by year

YearTotalStandardMental health crisis
2021 (May–Dec)41,12640,502624
202270,78769,5711,216
202388,39086,9261,464
202489,02087,7321,288
202589,13087,8131,317
2026 (Jan–Sep)45,41944,2611,158

Source: Insolvency Service, Table 6.1 The scheme started on 4 May 2021, so 2021 covers eight months.

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Breathing Space by advice provider

Breathing Space can only be started by an authorised debt adviser. StepChange Debt Charity registered 47,630 of the 89,130 Breathing Spaces in 2025 (53%).1

Breathing Space registrations by money adviser group, England and Wales
Adviser group20212022202320242025
StepChange Debt Charity27,55046,36051,70049,10047,630
Citizens Advice6,5509,92012,30012,42012,900
Money Wellness004,6408,6307,140
Dissolve Debt Ltd501906702,4102,820
MoneyPlus Group Limited (trading as MoneyPlus Advice)202201,1902,2001,900
Totemic Limited2,0003,0102,8202,4401,780
Debt Advisory Services (Scotland) Limited0003201,780
Toynbee Hall1102103206501,450
Money Advice Trust T/A National Debtline8101,7001,8701,3801,290
UK Debt Expert000501,220
Angel Advance Limited140190310390670
National Debt Relief Limited1020170300470
Pacific Financial Solutions90600140480340
Promethean Finance Limited4090610210110
Other3,7708,29011,6608,0307,620
Total41,13070,79088,39089,02089,130

Source: Insolvency Service, Table 7c.1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, so totals may not match exactly.

Breathing Space by age

Breathing Space registrations per 10,000 adults by age, 2025
Breathing Space registrations per 10,000 adults, England and Wales
Year18-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465+All Ages
20215.714.113.911.47.01.88.7
202210.525.325.018.510.42.614.8
202312.531.630.822.712.73.018.3
202411.029.931.823.713.13.018.2
202510.329.132.324.413.43.018.2

Source: Insolvency Service, individual insolvencies by age and gender 2025, Table 5.2

What Breathing Space does

Standard Breathing Space lasts 60 days. Most creditors must stop enforcement action and contact, and freeze interest and charges, while you get debt advice. Mental health crisis Breathing Space lasts as long as your crisis treatment, plus 30 days. It's free, and you apply through a debt adviser.3 Breathing Space isn't an insolvency and doesn't appear on your credit file. Our guide to debt and mental health covers where to get support.

Common questions

How many people use Breathing Space?

There were 89,130 Breathing Space registrations in England and Wales in 2025, and 423,872 in total from the scheme's launch in May 2021 to September 2026. Source: Insolvency Service.

Are Breathing Space registrations going up or down?

Down in 2026. There were 45,419 registrations from January to September 2026, 35% fewer than in the same months of 2025. StepChange, which registers most Breathing Spaces, changed its suitability criteria in November 2025, which reduced applications.

What is mental health crisis Breathing Space?

It's a version of Breathing Space for people receiving mental health crisis treatment. It lasts as long as the treatment, plus 30 days. It made up 1.5% of registrations in 2025 (1,317 cases).

Which age group uses Breathing Space most?

In 2025 the highest rate was among people aged 35-44, at 32.3 registrations per 10,000 adults, compared with 18.2 across all ages.

How long does Breathing Space last?

Standard Breathing Space lasts 60 days. During that time most creditors must stop enforcement action and contact, and interest and charges are frozen. You apply through a debt adviser, and it's free.

Using these statistics

You're welcome to use the figures on this page. Please credit the original source shown for each figure, and link to this page if it helped you find them:

Source: IVA Advice Online, "Breathing Space Statistics", https://ivaadviceonline.com/breathing-space-statistics/

Download the data (CSV) – Breathing Space registrations by year and month (standard and mental health crisis) to September 2026. Registrations by adviser group (CSV). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Struggling with debt? Free, impartial debt advice is available from StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice. Our guides explain how IVAs, debt management plans, debt relief orders and bankruptcy work, including the downsides of each.
More debt statistics

Sources

  1. Insolvency Service, Individual insolvency statistics: September 2026, published 20 October 2026. Tables 6 and 7c.
  2. Insolvency Service, Individual insolvencies by location, age and gender, England and Wales, 2025, age and gender data tables, published 27 March 2026.
  3. HM Treasury and Insolvency Service, Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance.

This page provides general information, not advice about your circumstances.

Related guides

Debt and Mental Health →Does an IVA Stop Bailiffs? →Insolvency by Age and Gender →

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