The proportion of clients with a negative budget rose by two percentage points to 35% in December 2022, the highest point in 2022, according to StepChange's monthly client data report1. A negative budget means a client's income does not cover their essential outgoings.
StepChange provided full debt advice to 10,520 clients in December 2022, down from 14,277 in November. The charity said the fall was in line with a seasonal trend consistent with previous years1.
"The proportion of clients with a negative budget is up by two percentage points to 35% in December, the highest point in 2022."
Arrears rose across several household bills in December compared with the previous calendar month. The proportion of clients in council tax arrears was 34%, gas arrears 27%, rent arrears 21% and mortgage arrears 17%1.
| Arrears type | Share of clients in December 2022 |
|---|---|
| Council tax | 34% |
| Gas | 27% |
| Rent | 21% |
| Mortgage | 17% |
Over one in five clients, 22%, cited a cost of living increase as their main reason for debt in December, a one percentage point rise on November's 21%1. StepChange also advised more under 25s (13%) and single adults without children (43%) than in November 20221.
Website users fell 20% between November (328,000) and December (263,000), but views of the charity's emergency funding webpage rose 15% month on month1.
Why it matters for households
The figures cover people who sought free debt advice from StepChange in December 2022, not the wider population, so they describe the circumstances of that group rather than all UK households. Within that group, more than a third had income that did not cover essential spending, and arrears had grown across council tax, gas, rent and mortgage payments compared with November1.
The rise in the negative budget share to 35% is the highest the charity recorded in 2022, and the increase in emergency funding page views suggests more people were looking for help with essential costs1. The report does not give figures for how many of those clients went on to miss payments, nor does it break the numbers down by nation or region.
What happens next
StepChange publishes a monthly client data report covering new clients who first received debt advice in the previous month1. No date for the next report is given in the December 2022 publication.
Sources1 cited
- Monthly Client Data Report. December 2022. StepChange stepchange.org
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