Debt advice figures for the United Kingdom, from the Money and Pensions Service, the Money Advice Trust and StepChange.
An estimated 14% of UK adults needed debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354). Need for debt advice measure: strong indications of needing debt advice due to arrears, high-cost credit use, creditor action and other negative impacts.
An estimated 22% of UK adults were at risk of needing debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354). At risk: struggling to keep up with bills and credit commitments or short of money for essentials, with no creditor action yet.
An estimated 64% of UK adults showed no signs of needing debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354).
An estimated 39% of UK adults either needed debt advice or were at risk of needing it soon in 2023.
Source: Eight million people need debt advice (press release, 29 February 2024), Money and Pensions Service, 2023
Debt Need Survey 2023: 22,519 adults, nationally representative, fieldwork 19 July to 25 September 2023.
Among UK adults who needed debt advice in 2023, 44% had taken it.
Source: Eight million people need debt advice (press release, 29 February 2024), Money and Pensions Service, 2023
Debt Need Survey 2023: 22,519 adults, nationally representative, fieldwork 19 July to 25 September 2023.
Among UK adults who needed debt advice in 2023 and had taken it, 26% said they waited more than 12 months between starting to struggle and seeking help.
Source: Eight million people need debt advice (press release, 29 February 2024), Money and Pensions Service, 2023
Debt Need Survey 2023: 22,519 adults, nationally representative, fieldwork 19 July to 25 September 2023.
In 2025, 89% of clients of National Debtline saw their debts reduce or stabilise after advice.
Source: Money Advice Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Money Advice Trust, 2025
Survey of 2,842 clients six months after advice.
StepChange recorded 28 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in the United Kingdom in 2025.
Source: Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet, StepChange, 2025
Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet; calendar year; clients' first fully completed debt advice session. Clients per 10,000 of local adult population. The 2025 yearbook says client location is assigned by postcode lookup.
Among new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange, 26% had a negative budget in September 2026.
Source: Monthly Client Data Report: September 2026, StepChange, September 2026
Monthly Client Data Report, September 2026 edition (published October 2026); clients who first received debt advice in the month; the report presents rounded whole numbers and says percentages may not add to 100%.
An estimated 7.3 million UK adults needed debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354). Need for debt advice measure: strong indications of needing debt advice due to arrears, high-cost credit use, creditor action and other negative impacts. Published as 7.3m.
An estimated 11.7 million UK adults were at risk of needing debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354). Published as 11.7m.
Money Advice Trust helped 216,859 people with debt advice through its personal and small business debt helplines in 2025.
Source: Money Advice Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Money Advice Trust, 2025
Counts phone, webchat and online channels.
National Debtline and Business Debtline helped people with £2.9 billion of debt in 2025.
Source: Money Advice Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Money Advice Trust, 2025
Total amount of debt the charity says it helped people with.
Money Advice Trust recorded 271,900 advice interactions through its personal and small business debt helplines in 2024.
Source: Money Advice Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2024, Money Advice Trust, 2024
Interactions by phone and webchat, as published; not the same as people helped.
New clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange had an average of 8 debts at the time of advice in September 2026.
Source: Monthly Client Data Report: September 2026, StepChange, September 2026
Monthly Client Data Report, September 2026 edition (published October 2026); clients who first received debt advice in the month; the report presents rounded whole numbers and says percentages may not add to 100%.
An estimated 18% of UK adults needed debt advice in 2022.
Source: Need for debt advice and how households are reacting to changes in the cost of living (blog, 25 January 2023), Money and Pensions Service, 2022
Debt Need Survey 2022, run in August and September 2022.
An estimated 14% of UK adults needed debt advice in 2024. An estimated 22% of UK adults were at risk of needing debt advice in 2024. An estimated 64% of UK adults showed no signs of needing debt advice in 2024.
An estimated 14% of UK adults needed debt advice in 2024.
An estimated 22% of UK adults were at risk of needing debt advice in 2024.
An estimated 64% of UK adults showed no signs of needing debt advice in 2024.