'Lack of control over finances' overtakes 'cost of living increase' as main reason for debt among StepChange clients

A lack of control over finances became the most mentioned main reason for debt among new clients of the debt charity StepChange in December 2024, the charity reported in its monthly client data report for that month¹. It was cited by 18% of clients as their main reason for debt, overtaking a cost of living increase, which had held the top position since June 2022¹.

The report covers the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in December 2024, alongside website traffic trends¹. StepChange's emergency funding webpage remained the most viewed debt information page in December 2024, with 28,666 views, which the charity says is 35% higher than December 2023, when it recorded 21,292 views¹.

Among clients with responsibility for paying the bill, the proportion in arrears rose year on year. Electric arrears stood at 28% in December 2024 against 24% in December 2023, a rise of four percentage points, while gas arrears rose two percentage points, from 19% to 21%¹.

Source: StepChange Monthly Client Data Report, December 2024¹. Arrears figures cover clients with responsibility for paying the given bill.

Two in five clients, 39%, were in receipt of Universal Credit in December 2024, two percentage points higher than the 37% recorded in December 2023¹. The proportion of men seeking debt advice was 40%, also two percentage points higher than a year earlier, when it was 38%¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures describe the circumstances of people who approached StepChange for debt advice in December 2024, rather than the whole population. The change in the most cited main reason for debt means that, among this group, a lack of control over finances rather than a cost of living increase was the reason most often given for the first time since June 2022¹. The arrears figures relate only to clients responsible for paying the relevant bill, and show that a larger share of those clients were behind on electricity and gas at the end of 2024 than a year earlier¹. The rise in the share of clients receiving Universal Credit indicates that a slightly larger proportion of people seeking advice were on means-tested benefits than in December 2023¹. The charity's emergency funding page recorded 28,666 views in the month, 35% more than a year before, which points to higher traffic to information about emergency funding¹.

What happens next

StepChange publishes a monthly client data report, and says the December 2024 edition is the latest in that series¹. No further dates or figures beyond December 2024 have been reported¹.