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The ifs School of Finance has warned that there will be continue to be high levels of insolvency whilst so many people lack basic skills in personal financial management.

The financial education charity's comments follow the release of second-quarter statistics by the Insolvency Service, which showed there were 24,553 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Phil Hall, head of public affairs for the ifs School of Finance said: "Levels of consumer debt have been at dizzying heights for several years, causing many to face insolvency. Once again it looks as if there will be more than 100,000 insolvencies in 2008 if current trends continue. In fact, falling levels of employment together with rising mortgage, food and energy prices mean that these numbers could grow considerably in the months ahead. By equipping the public with the skills, knowledge and confidence to manage their finances effectively, the number of insolvencies would inevitably be reduced."

According to Mr Hall, while there is lots of different financial education programmes being offered in schools, the workplace and online there is little or no evidence to suggest that it is indeed improving people's financial capability. He added: "In contrast, there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that a standalone, nationally recognised qualification produces financially capable young people. Offering personal finance as a GCSE or equivalent option would lead to a step change in the number of people able to mange their finances, which would in turn have a knock-on effect in reducing insolvencies."