This latest report provides insight into the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in January 2022.
Our key findings from January 2022:
- The number of clients receiving full debt advice increased between December and January. This represents a usual seasonal trend. Over 14,000 new clients received full debt advice in January
- The number of web users visiting the charity’s website also increased by 34% between December and January (358,000 users)
- The charity has started to see some evidence of the impact of the cost of living on clients. For example, almost one in ten (9%) clients cited an increase in the cost of living as one of their main reasons for debt
- The proportion of new clients with children also increased between December and January. The charity continued to advise a disproportionately high number of single parents, who accounted for one quarter (25%) of all new clients in January
- The proportion of new clients with negative budgets fell by one percentage point between December (30%) and January (29%)
- Council tax remains as the most common arrears type, and credit cards remain as the most common unsecured debt type held by new StepChange clients
- More than two thirds (68%) of clients had a credit card debt at the time of advice in January
Take a look at the full report to find out more.