§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of assets in bankruptcy in the last available year were absorbed by the cost of the proceedings as opposed to distribution among creditors.
§ Mr. Redwood[holding answer 12 December 1989]: The last year for which the information was maintained in the form requested was 1984. In that year out of every £1 of net assets realised in bankruptcy cases where the official receiver was trustee 64.5p was spent on administration expenses, 15p was paid to the preferential creditors and 20.5p was distributed among the unsecured creditors. The comparative figures for cases where a non-official trustee was appointed were 52.9p, 17.9p and 29.9p. Such information for the years after 1984 could not be obtained other than at disproportionate cost.
Since the Insolvency Act 1986 came into force on 29 December 1986 official receivers have been able to ensure that nearly all bankruptcies with sufficient assets to produce a distribution to creditors are administered by private sector insolvency practitioners. Those bankruptcies which remain to be administered by the official receiver as trustee are therefore unlikely to produce such a distribution, any assets realised in such cases being absorbed in payment of the costs of the proceedings.