An IVA or individual voluntary arrangement is a formal agreement between you and your creditors, that is the people you owe money to. This arrangement is set up by a profession insolvency practitioner where it is agreed you will pay of some of the debt you owe over time. After five years your debt is settled which means you are debt free, or at least with the creditors within the agreement.
The purpose of an IVA is to create a legal agreement to repay as much of your debt as possible. You make monthly payments based on what you can afford to pay. You may be able to write off up to two thirds of your debt but this is entirely based on your individual circumstances.
The benefit to you is that you get a chance to sort your financial situation out once and for all. This is not a quick fix solution to your debt but more of a chance for you to clear up your existing debt so you can start over.
You will be required to pay of part of your existing debt to the people and companies you owe money to. Any interest or other additional charges you were getting will be frozen so your debt is not increasing. Then usually after 5 years your debt is written off.
Over this period you will make monthly payments of the amount agreed. You will not have to worry about demands coming in or having extra charges added to your already large debt. An IVA means that creditors get at least some of their money back and you have a sensible and affordable single monthly payment.