Two-child limit and benefit cap at odds with commitment to end child poverty

Latest Government statistics have shown that in April 2025, 469,780 Universal Credit households were affected by the two-child limit policy: that is, they had a third or subsequent child born on or after 6TH April 2017. This was an increase of 13,520 (3%) from the total number of households affected on either Universal Credit or…

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Debt charities call for overhaul of personal insolvency system

Debt charities are calling for a fundamental overhaul of the personal insolvency system in England and Wales, warning that current debt remedies are no longer working for people in crisis or for creditors.  In a new joint paper Citizens Advice and the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, have set out a…

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Half of people who have acted on social media financial advice have lost money

Research by TSB has found that among the 31 per cent of people who have acted on financial advice on social media platforms, over half (55%) lost money as a result. The data found that over two-fifths (42%) of 16-24-year-olds reported having used social media to access financial advice in the past 12 months, followed by…

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One in four financially vulnerable people have no savings

New data from Fair4AllFinance has found that one  in four people (24%) in financially vulnerable circumstances in the UK hold no savings at all. The data showed that 10 million people across the UK have stopped saving entirely, or are saving less than they did a year ago. The 10 million figure represents more than…

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Government publishes personal insolvency reform update

The Government has published the first major update on its Personal Insolvency Framework Review since August 2023, when it released a summary of responses to the 2022 Call for Evidence. Responding to the update, Nicky Fisher, R3 Personal Insolvency Committee Chair, said “R3 welcomes the Insolvency Service’s continued commitment to reforming the UK’s personal insolvency…

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Universal Credit & PIP bill ‘deeply flawed’

2nd July 2025 Consumer Collections |

As MPs successfully push the UK government to drop Clause 5, the Mental Health Foundation is calling on the Government to also drop Universal Credit measures. Reforms to the benefits system that the Mental Health Foundation called ‘counterproductive and cruel’ have been partially curtailed following concessions by the UK government ahead of a vote on…

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Mortgage borrowing increased by £2.8bn in May

Latest data from the Bank of England has found that mortgage debt increased by £2.8 billion to £2.1 billion in May, following a large decrease in net borrowing of £13.8 billion to £0.8 billion in April. The number of mortgages approved for home purchases in the UK rose to 63,000 in May, an increase of…

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One in ten parents working overtime to fund school trips

New research from Zurich Municipal has found that an increasing number of parents are struggling to fund the cost of school trips for their children. Over one in ten (13%) revealed they have had to work overtime to meet the cost of the away day or residential trips, with a similar number (9%) admitting they…

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Living standards outlook for UK households is bleak

A new report from the Resolution Foundation has found that the average UK household will see income grow by only 1 per cent, around £300, between 2025 and 2030, whilst the poorest families may see a 1 per cent decline in living standards.  The Foundation says the outlook for living standards across Britain is bleak.…

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Council tax arrears hits £6.6bn

Latest figures published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government show that council tax arrears have increased by over £600 million, with total debt reaching £6.6 billion, an increase of over 80 per cent since before the pandemic. The data reveals 400,000 more households fell into council tax arrears between 2022 and 2024, with 1.8…

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Personal insolvencies fall

Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvencies decreased by 0.5% in May 2025 to a total of 10,014 compared to April 2025’s total of 10,060, and increased by 5.5% compared to May 2024’s figure of 9,493. The personal insolvencies consisted of 648 bankruptcies, 3,783 debt relief orders…

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Mortgage debt and regional inequality put millions of pensioners at risk

12th June 2025 Arrears and Recoveries |

New research from SunLife has reveals that seven in ten (73%) over 50s have private pensions, rising to 75% in the South West, 76% in the South East and 83% in Northern Ireland, in the North West 30% of over 50s have no private pension savings at all. Average incomes in the region are also…

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Mortgage lending increases by 50.4%

Latest data from the Bank of England has shown that the number of new mortgages competed by lenders jumped 50.4% to £77.6 billion in the first three months of the year compared to 12 months ago, hitting the highest quarterly level for more than two years. The data shows that the outstanding value of all…

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