HALF of all people quizzed for a survey still believe there is a social stigma attached to bankruptcy and other insolvency issues.

Fifty per cent of those questioned for the R3 personal debt snapshot survey said a stigma remained, compared to 14 per cent who did not.

But there were signs that attitudes were easing with just under half (45 per cent) saying they believed this social stigma had fallen over the past decade.

The North-East has the highest rate for personal insolvency of any region in England and Wales, with four of the 20 worst-affected parliamentary constituencies - Washington and Sunderland West, Gateshead, Easington and Wansbeck - being found here.

Allan Kelly, chair of R3 in the North-East, the body which represents insolvency professionals, said: “The idea of ‘stigma’ around entering an insolvency procedure is one of the barriers to people dealing with problem debt and it’s very welcome that there is an increasingly non-judgmental attitude to people entering an insolvency procedure.

"The perceived fall in stigma is probably linked to the big rise in consumer debt and personal insolvencies since the turn of the century.”

Mr Kelly said insolvency needed to be better understood as too many people avoided getting the right advice and solution for their situation based on a misconception of what was involved.