Our response to Treasury consultation launch on Breathing Space

_{24 October, 2017}

Responding to the Treasury’s ‘Breathing Space’ scheme call for evidence, Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of StepChange Debt Charity said:

We welcome the Government’s move to fulfil its manifesto commitment. Personal debt is growing, and we know that the guarantee of protection provided within a Breathing Space scheme is crucial to helping people who are overwhelmed by debt to recover control of their finances and move on with their lives.

“The Government is asking the right sort of questions, including noting the importance that their own debts could be within any scheme. But we know from the experiences of our clients that continuous protection between the initial Breathing Space period and any statutory repayment plan is vital. Any interruption would destabilise fragile family finances and risk putting people back to square one.”