Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Insolvency Service's publication entitled, Commentary - Individual Insolvency Statistics October to December 2023, published on 30 January 2024, whether his Department is taking steps to help reduce the need for breathing space registrations under the Debt Respite Scheme.

The Government launched the Breathing Space scheme on 4 May 2021. The aim of the scheme is to encourage earlier access to debt advice and enable people in problem debt to get their finances back on track. As of December 2022, over 200,000 people in problem debt have benefited from Breathing Space protections.

The Government is committed to supporting individuals in problem debt. At the Autumn Statement, further support to protect struggling families with the cost of living was announced. This brings the total support for households over 2022/23 to 2024/25 to £104 billion – an average of £3,700 per household. In addition, the Government continues to maintain record levels of funding for the Money and Pensions Service to provide debt advice in England, bringing their debt advice budget to £92.7 million in 2024.