HM Treasury invited representations from stakeholders ahead of the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026. StepChange Debt Charity submitted a representation.
StepChange Debt Charity is a specialist not for profit provider of debt advice and debt solutions supporting people across the UK. In 2025, over 660,000 people contacted StepChange seeking debt advice or guidance with their problem debt and over 163,000 people completed full debt advice through our online and telephone service. We welcome the opportunity to respond to the HM Treasury call for submissions in advance of the October 2026 Budget.
Sustained and acute cost of living pressures are driving increased demand for debt advice: in the first half of this year, StepChange advised 13% more clients than in the same period in 2025. The Government should prioritise targeted measures to relieve pressure on those most vulnerable to cost of living pressures. In this submission we highlight steps the costs and Government should take now to increase incomes, reduce essential boost the financial resilience of households, including:
- Implementing an energy social tariff and supporting Ofgem to deliver the Debt Relief Scheme as soon as possible;
- Increasing support with housing costs by re-linking Local Housing Allowance to the cost of rent; and
- Taking action to increase uptake of council tax support
The Government can also deliver a low-cost boost to living standards by translating its Financial Inclusion Strategy into a concrete set of targets alongside metrics and delivery commitments, including:
- Implementing a Statutory Debt Repayment Plan to provide a safe harbour for households struggling with debt problems where an insolvency is not appropriate;
- Ensuring the commitment in the Strategy to develop a credit information repair framework for victim survivors of economic abuse is met effectively including a delivery target date; and
- Boosting access to credit alternatives and financial resilience by putting the Crisis and Resilience Fund on a permanent footing, rolling out a national no-interest loan scheme and increasing take up of the Help to Save scheme