Debt advice charity StepChange says the cost of living was the most commonly mentioned reason for debt among people seeking its help, with 22% of those contacting the charity in August saying it was the main problem. The charity also says more people are in arrears with their gas and electricity bills.
There was also a sevenfold increase in the number of people using its online benefits checker in August compared to July – although this was driven, in part, by an active push to around 97,000 existing clients to remind them about the tool. Meanwhile, around 340,000 people visited the StepChange website in August, and more than 15,000 completed full debt advice.
The most common arrears on essential bills among those clients who had a responsibility for each type were council tax (31%), electricity (30%), water (27%) and gas (25%). Since last August, there has been a decline in the proportion of clients with rent, council tax and water arrears but a rise, unsurprisingly, in those with electricity and gas arrears.
