personal debt 2015 statistics yeabr ook - stepchange · a look at the lives of half a million...
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A look at the lives of half a million people in debt in the UK
Statistics Yearbook
PerSonAl Debt 2015
StepChange Debt Charity research2
Main findings 2015
1 not including arrears on essential household bills. Unless otherwise specified, data is based on the 307,043 new clients debt advised in 2015.
What debts do people have?the average unsecured debt of our clients in 2015 was £13,9001. the average number of debts per person was 5.6. Credit cards were the most common unsecured debt.
the proportion of clients we see with arrears on essential household bills continues to grow. More than four in 10 now owe money on items such as council tax, rent and utilities. this is compared to around a quarter in 2011.
Who’s seeking advice?More than half (57%) of those seeking debt advice in 2015 were employed. but of these, fewer people have full-time jobs, and more people have part-time jobs. More renters need help than ever before. In 2015 over 75% of StepChange Debt Charity clients live in rented accommodation, compared to a little over 50% five years ago.
More young people are contacting us; 57% of clients are under 40, and 14% are under 25. A growing proportion of clients are single parents, now at close to 20%. this compares to just 7% of UK households.
the average income for clients has continued to fall, now annually at under £16,000 (net). the amount clients are left with at the end of the month has also fallen over the last year, now at an average of £55 per month.
the biggest cause of falling into debt is an income or employment change. one in five of the charity’s clients in 2015 fell into problem debt due to losing their job. A further 15% fell into problem debt due to a reduced or irregular income. the average income of our clients in 2015 was the lowest it has been in the previous five years.
Demand for debt advice
549,053 people contacted StepChange Debt Charity for help in 2015. london continues to be the area where people are most likely to be in need of advice. there were over three million visits to the charity’s website, a 97% increase on 2012.
The data in this Statistics Yearbook is drawn from a StepChange Debt Charity warehouse containing the details of 20.5 million calls and over three million clients. 2015 figures are based on the 307,043 new clients in this year.
Overall demand
regiOnal demand
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
Con
tact
s
Website visits (m
illions)
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
Statistics Yearbook: Personal Debt 2015 3
Demand
the highest level of demand comes from london and the north of england, each with over 100 clients per 10,000 local population.
Clients per 10,000 population in 2015
25-50 50-75
75-100 100-125
rank 3 2015100
rank 10 201558
rank 8 2015 77
rank 11 201544
rank 1 2015 114
rank 9 2015 73
rank 2 2015112
2015 rank 4 100
2015 rank 12 42
2015 rank 691
2015 rank 7 86
2015 rank 595
Contacts Website visits
Ave
rage
tota
l un
secu
red
debt
UnsecUred debts
StepChange Debt Charity research4
Unsecured debts
UnsecUred debt Over time
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
£20,000
£15,000
£10,000
£1,063
£1,308
£1,937
£1,424
£8,637
£1,725
£8,403
catalOgUe
34.7%PaYdaY lOan
15.7%
stOre card
12.5%
PaYdaY lOan
15.7%
AVERAGE DEBT AMOUNT
credit card
65.7%
PersOnal lOan
42.6%
OVERDRAFT
55.1%
HOme credit
9.1%
UNSECURED DEBT TYPE
% of clients with each type
of debt
arrears On essential HOUseHOld bills Over time
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 based on clients with this type of expenditure only
Statistics Yearbook: Personal Debt 2015 5
Household bills
mOrtgage tv licencerentgascOUncil taX electricitY Water
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Pro
po
rtion
of clien
ts with
arrears
StepChange Debt Charity research6
arrears On essential HOUseHOld bills
EssEntial
Household bills
avERaGE aRREaRs amount
cOUncil taX
£961
Water
£704
gas
£539tv licence
£78
electricitY
£638
rent
£922
mOrtgage
£2,966
Pro
port
ion
of c
lient
s
with
arr
ears
average arrears On essential HOUseHOld bills
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
Pro
port
ion
of c
lient
s
Statistics Yearbook: Personal Debt 2015 7
emPlOYment statUs
What do those in debt look like?
employed full time
employed part time Full time carer
looking after the family retired Self employed Student Unemployed
HOUsing
Homeowners renters
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
Ann
ual (
net)
inco
me M
onthly surplus
Pro
port
ion
of c
lient
s
incOme and sUrPlUs
Annual (net) income Monthly surplus
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
201
12
012
201
32
014
201
5
£17,100
£17,000
£16,900
£16,800
£16,700
£16,600
£16,500
£16,400
£16,300
£16,200
£70
£60
£50
£40
£30
£20
£10
£0
FamilY cOmPOsitiOn
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
Under 25 25-39 40-59 60 and over
age
Editor: Henry Hall For data tables, including additional raw data, visit the StepChange Debt Charity website here For help and advice with problem debts call (Freephone) 0800 138 1111 Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm, or use our online debt advice tool, Debt Remedy.
email: [email protected] | Web: www.stepchange.org | twitter: @stepchange
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
38.8%single without children
(34% UK Av.)
25.9%couples with children
(23% UK Av.)
19.6%single with children
(7% UK Av.)
15.6%couples without children
(36% UK Av.)
Pro
port
ion
of c
lient
s
© 2016 Foundation for Credit Counselling, Wade House, Merrion Centre, Leeds, LS2 8NG trading as StepChange Debt Charity and StepChange Debt Charity Scotland.
A registered charity no.1016630 and SC046263. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
UK Average
Pro
port
ion
of c
lient
s
Source: onS Families and Households, 2015