THE body which investigates why companies have been made bankrupt has seen its staff cut by a third.

Junior business minister Ed Davey said the Insolvency Service had reduced its staff from 3,200 to 2,100 by May last year as the number of cases it handled fell from 78,000 in 2009-10 to about 50,000 this financial year.

The service, which also acts as an administrator when no private sector firm steps in, has also seen a fall in the value of assets in bankruptcy estates.