People increasingly struggling with energy bills, council tax and mortgage costs, says StepChange Scotland

^{21 January 2025}

StepChange Scotland has revealed a rise in the proportion of people struggling to keep up with their energy bills, council tax and mortgage at the outset of 2025.

New data from the charity for the final quarter of 2024 shows over one in five (21%) clients with a responsibility for paying a mortgage are in arrears, up from 14% in the same quarter of 2023.

A similar trend can be seen for the proportion of clients in arrears with their council tax (36%), which has risen by three percentage points year-on-year. Meanwhile the proportion of clients with electricity (35%) and gas (30%) arrears has increased by five percentage points each year-on-year.

The charity says that its concerning to see a rise in clients struggling with household debt, especially as the new year and winter is always a challenging time for people dealing with debt issues.

Sharon Bell, Head of StepChange Scotland, said:

"Unfortunately, the new year can be particularly hard for people struggling with problem debt – Christmas puts a lot of pressure on our finances and January itself often proves to be an expensive month. This is a time when we see more people than usual coming to the charity seeking help with their finances.

"However, this January we’re also faced with a rise in the energy price cap and the same steep costs for rent, mortgage and council tax bills that have dominated the past few years. We’ve already started to see the proportion of clients coming to us with priority debts like energy and council tax creep up, so it’s important that both the Scottish and UK Governments ensure financially vulnerable households are properly supported.

"If you are worried about debt this January, or at any time, it’s never too soon to reach out for help. StepChange offers free and non-judgemental advice online, with expert advisors on hand to support over the phone. You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re dealing with problem debt."

StepChange Scotland has shared its top three tips for people worried about debt this new year:

1. Now is a great time to create a detailed monthly budget, which will allow you to take account of costs that may come later in the year like Christmas. Make a note of all of your income and expenditure, which will allow you to see how much you have leftover to repay debts and make savings. StepChange has budget templates on its website to help get started.
2. Once your budget is complete you might be able to identify some areas for saving. Are there any subscriptions that you’re not using you could cancel? Could you switch to a cheaper supermarket for your food shop? Now would also be a good time to check that you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to. StepChange has a handy benefits calculator on its website.
3. If after creating your budget and identifying any areas for saving or benefit entitlements, you’re still struggling to clear debt, don’t panic - free, confidential debt advice is available 24/7 using StepChange’s online debt advice service.

Notes to Editors

• StepChange Scotland quarterly client data for Q4’24 is available on request.