Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that agencies which provide debt advice to households receive sufficient funding to meet levels of demand.

The Government recognises the vital role that debt advice providers play in helping people in vulnerable circumstances. This is why the Government provided record levels of debt advice funding to the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) for free-to-client debt advice provision in England in 2020/21 and in this financial year. MaPS is one of the main funders for free-to-client debt advice in England, alongside other sources of funding for the sector, including from local authorities and via charitable donations.

On 14 February, MaPS provided an update which confirmed funding levels for debt advice services in England over the next three financial years. Its budget for the delivery of frontline debt advice provision in England has risen to £76 million for each of the next three financial years, recognising an anticipated increase in the need for debt advice. This represents a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels of funding, which totalled £43 million in 2019/20.