This latest report provides insight into the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in November 2021.
Our key findings from November 2021:
- StepChange provided full debt advice to 13,000 clients in November, which is consistent with levels found in October
- However, the number of new clients remains substantially lower each month compared to before the pandemic; in November 2019, 24,000 new clients completed a full debt advice session
- More than one third of clients (35%) were in receipt of Universal Credit in November; the highest proportion of new clients in the previous six months
- The proportion of clients in council tax arrears has increased; in November, two in five (40%) new clients were behind on their council tax bills
- The proportion of clients with rent arrears (25%) and mortgage arrears (19%) had also increased between October and November
- A growing proportion of single parents received debt advice in November. One quarter (25%) of new clients were single parents
- As with previous months and years, credit cards remain the most common type of unsecured debt held by new clients at advice. In November, two thirds (66%) of new clients at least one credit card debt.
Take a look at the full report to find out more.
This is the latest report in our series detailing data during the pandemic.