 The rise in personal bankruptcy has been blamed on a credit card boom |
Scotland's new bankruptcy office is being opened in Ayrshire, bringing 90 jobs to the area. The office has been transferred from Edinburgh to Kilwinning as part of the Scottish Executive's drive to move government jobs outside the capital.
The Accountant in Bankruptcy office handles all cases of personal bankruptcy in Scotland and registers all firms that go bust.
About 5,000 people in Scotland are declared insolvent each year.
The rapid rise in personal bankruptcies has been attributed to a boom in credit cards.
The new office will be officially opened on Monday by Allan Wilson, the deputy enterprise minister, who is piloting a reform of the bankruptcy laws through the Scottish Parliament.
Record levels
The Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill proposes to cut the period of bankruptcy from three years to one.
It also encourages the use of a new debt arrangement scheme to help people repay their debts and get back on their feet financially.
The reforms will be debated at a conference in Crieff organised by Money Advice Scotland (MAS).
Yvonne Gallacher, the organisation's chief executive, said: "Our members are seeing record levels of people coming to them for advice and the proposed reforms for one year bankruptcy could well escalate those numbers."
However, she also said there were other measures contained in the bill which would give debtors the chance to pay back their debt over a longer period of time.
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