Welcoming the Government announcement of an additional £38 million funding through the Money and Pensions Service for the debt advice sector to increase its capacity to help 1 million people through full debt advice and 2 million people through guidance over the next 12-18 months in the wake of coronavirus, StepChange CEO Phil Andrew comments:
“The additional £38 million funding announced today to help the debt advice sector increase capacity quickly is very welcome, but also a worrying signpost to the bumpy road ahead for household finances.
“At StepChange we are working in partnership with the Money and Pension service on real, practical solutions for the millions of households who will be impacted by the pandemic. We know that they will need support to get back on their feet.
“Policy measures to help mitigate the effects of the crisis are needed alongside the ability to deliver advice to people in difficulty. We are working hard to ensure that both our services, and their delivery, are as efficient and effective as possible at helping people whose finances have been damaged by the pandemic – as well as those who were already facing difficulty before the pandemic started.
"It’s worth remembering that nearly 10 million households faced financial stress even before the pandemic, and our new research suggests that 4.6 million people are already facing financial problems as a direct result of it.”