In 2021, the Money and Pensions Service ('MaPS') changed the way it estimated the number of people in need of debt advice. Undertaking secondary analysis of the MaPS 'Debt Need Survey' for 2023 we find its approach to be overly restrictive, excluding 5 million people who clearly have a need for advice. The MaPS approach is so restrictive that it even excludes a third of people who are receiving debt advice from its definition of needing this.
With increasing numbers of council on the brink of declaring effective bankruptcy and increased Council Tax arrears, there is an urgent need to reform local government finance. In this briefing we set out our position and call for improvements in funding for councils, debt advice commissioning, and the Council Tax collection regime.
CfRC and Debt Justice joint response to HM Treasury's proposals for the Statutory Debt Repayment Plan ('SDRP') calls for major revisions, including the incorporation of a mechanism to write down debts sold to debt collection agencies and for public scrutiny of the Standard Financial Statement 'trigger figures' used to determine how much debtors will need to pay back through the plans.
We need urgent action to address Britain’s household debt crisis. Even before the Covid‑19 pandemic 7.2 million people (fourteen percent of the population) were heavily burdened by debt.