Cost of living becomes most common reason for debt among StepChange new clients

Experiencing an increase in the cost of living was the most common reason for debt among new clients of StepChange Debt Charity in July 2022, cited by one in five (20%) of those who received advice that month¹. The charity published the figure in its monthly client data report for July 2022¹.

The same report found that one third (33%) of all new clients were behind on their energy bills, up from 30% in June¹. The proportion of new clients with negative budgets remained at 32% in July 2022, two percentage points higher than the 30% recorded among new clients 12 months earlier¹. The share of clients with children rose from 43% in June to 45% in July, with one quarter (24%) of new clients single parents and one in five (21%) in couples with children¹. Website users increased by more than 18,000 between June (295,000) and July (313,000), and the emergency funding page remained the most visited debt information page, with over 17,000 visits¹.

Later evidence from the Scottish Government's review of the effects of the cost of living crisis on problem debt, published on 20 December 2024, put the cost of living share higher in subsequent years. It found one in four (25%) new UK StepChange clients cited the cost of living in 2023, an increase of seven percentage points compared with 2022 and 19 percentage points compared with 2021 (6%)². It was also cited by 25% of new Scottish StepChange clients in 2023, an increase of 2% since 2022². A University of Bristol report published in October 2025, covering 2024, said a cost of living increase was the most common reason for debt, cited by 21% of new clients³.

The Scottish Government review also recorded rising client numbers and debt levels. There were 183,403 new clients across the UK in 2023, up from 167,351 in 2022, which it described as the equivalent of one new client every three minutes². Between 2022 and 2023 StepChange provided full debt advice to 16,000 more clients, an increase of 10% year on year². Average UK client debt was £14,654 in 2023, up from £11,000 in 2021, while average unsecured debts among Scottish StepChange clients rose from £12,730 in 2021 to £16,337 in 2023². The University of Bristol report said 170,928 clients completed a full debt advice session in 2024³.

Why it matters for households

The figures describe who was seeking help and why, at a point when energy arrears and negative budgets were already widespread among new clients. A negative budget means a household's income does not cover its essential outgoings, so the shortfall has to be met from savings or further borrowing². The Scottish Government review noted that debt advice figures do not capture people in difficulty who do not seek advice: FCA research cited in it found only 21% of adults who felt heavily burdened by their debts, and 29% of those who had fallen behind on or missed paying bills, had sought help in the past year². The review also found that 39% of UK adults either needed debt advice or were at risk of needing it soon in 2023, with 15%, equivalent to 8.1 million people, needing advice to avoid their situation worsening².

For anyone assessing their own position, the Standard Financial Statement is the common income and expenditure format used in debt advice, and the University of Bristol report lists wider adoption of it by energy suppliers among its longer-term ambitions³. The charity's own figures show the reasons people give for seeking help, and the debt guide sets out the options and rights that apply once advice begins.

What happens next

The Scottish Government review was published on 20 December 2024². The University of Bristol report was published in October 2025 and sets out six longer-term ambitions and eight quick wins for improving referrals from energy suppliers into debt advice³. It notes that Ofgem put in place new and updated rules at the end of 2023 to make it easier for domestic customers to contact their supplier, and that a new Consumer Energy Debt Advice service, led by Citizens Advice with the Money Advice Trust and StepChange, will support clients to resolve energy debt problems³. No further dated steps are given in the sources.