Fergus Ewing welcomed figures showing a drop in both personal insolvencies and the number of companies either becoming insolvent or entering receivership.

The second quarter of 2012-13 saw 4063 personal insolvencies, a drop of 27.5% on the previous three-month period and almost one-quarter lower than 12 months ago.

The decline was expected because of a surge of applications in the first three months of the year, before an increase in fees in June.

More Scots turned to the Debt Arrangement Scheme, which is backed by the Scottish Government, for help with their financial problems. The scheme can allow people to pay back what they owe over a longer period.

In the second quarter of the year, 274 firms either became insolvent or entered receivership – a drop of 24.1% on the previous three months and more than one-third lower than the same time last year, figures from the Accountant in Bankruptcy show.