The finance provider Syscap found that 38% of businesses believed securing a bank loan has become harder in the past 12 months than it was a year earlier.

Experian has reported that insolvency rates among UK businesses are at their lowest number in three years.

The Office of Fair Trading is threatening 129 out of 142 debt management firms that unless they improve the way that they treat consumers, they will lose their credit licence.

HM Revenue and Customs confirmed that the tax gap widened by £4 billion over the last 12 months.  The Treasury missed £42 billion last year because of tax fraud, avoidance or underpayment.

The Conservative Party have ‘quietly dropped’ their plans for business insolvency reform after opposition from business leaders, according to the FT.

A report in Accountancy Age confirms that the number of incolvencies in the second quarter of 2010 has fallen by 19% compared with the second quarter of 2009.

A link to the latest insolvency statistics can be found at:

On 26 July 2010, a consultation document was launched by the Insolvency Service on proposals for a moratorium outside of formal insolvency for companies in financial difficulty.

Stephen Speed, CEO of the Insolvency Service, confirmed that it was "inevitable" spending cuts would lead to a reduction in the number of investigations.