This latest report provides insight into the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in September 2021. It also includes the latest insights on our website traffic trends.
Our key findings from September 2021:
- StepChange provided full debt advice to almost 13,000 new clients in this month.
- The proportion of new clients in receipt of Universal Credit has increased from 32% in August to 34% in September; representing the first increase since June 2021.
- There have been growing levels of difficulty with energy arrears. The proportion of clients with gas arrears increased from 22% to 24% between August and September, and the proportion of clients behind on electricity bills (27%) remains higher than levels found in 2020 (26%).
- Website information shows the growing levels of concern about energy costs. The charity’s ‘gas and electricity arrears information page’ saw a 388% increase monthly increase in page visits between August and September.
- In September, 67% of new clients had a credit card debt, and 37% of clients were behind on council tax at advice. These remain the most common unsecured debt and arrears type respectively.
Take a look at the full report to find out more.
This is the latest report in our series detailing data during the pandemic.
Our previous reports