New personal debt rules are a start

The insolvency service faces a huge job, with new rules, new practitioners and an uncertain response from the banks, which will have a key say as the main creditor in most cases.

Is there some reluctance about the government's overdue launch of the new personal insolvency regime? No doubt there is. There is nothing easy about this politically. Helping those in debt risks annoying those who are just getting by - particularly at a time when the state owns a fair chunk of the banking sector. There is no immediate risk of banks needing new capital, but as the process gathers pace, this is a ...