Scottish consumer debt hits record low post Brexit vote

Over the year as a whole there was little change, so great interest will attach to the first half of 2017, the non-profit organisation said.

The Registry Trust, which collects decree and judgement information from jurisdictions across the UK, including small claims and summary causes and ordinary cause decrees in Scotland, released its latest data today.

It showed there were 20,822 debt decrees registered against Scottish consumers in 2016, only one percent fewer than the previous year. The combined value of all decrees was £63m, one percent higher than 2015, bringing the average for consumer decrees up three percent to £3,022.

The trends for small claims and summary causes and ordinary cause decrees were broadly consistent.

Only 4.2 percent of decrees were marked as satisfied in 2016, much lower than the 13.9 percent of satisfied debt judgments in England and Wales. During the year Registry Trust plans a campaign to increase the proportion.

“The figures for the second half of 2016 point to a healthy economy,” said Registry Trust chairman Malcolm Hurlston CBE. “Repayable borrowing keeps the wheels turning for a healthy economy.”

Registry Trust is currently aiming to extend its public interest work by registering local authority liability orders in Scotland.