Debt Relief Order - what's that?

6,788 people found out in the first three months of this year.

That's up from 6,172 in the quarter before and sharply higher than 5,644 a year ago.

Debt Relief Orders, or DROs, are on the rise and the numbers are likely to climb further.

The Orders are a sort of bankruptcy-lite, simpler and designed for people with burdensome debts but limited assets.

I explained in a previous note why the arrival of DROs is significant, but one obvious advantage is that they are a cheap way to make a new start.

A DRO costs £90, while going bankrupt is £625, rising soon to £700.

Bankrupts end up paying even more than that out of their assets, if there's enough after everything is sold off.

So, while DROs are on the rise, bankruptcies are going down, the Insolvency Service tells us, though many predict an overall rise in individual insolvencies later this year.

If you want to find out more about Debt Relief Orders, here's a good place to start.