Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of inflation on the growth in consumer credit borrowing.

HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. However, it does not routinely forecast the impact of inflation on consumer credit usage.

It is worth noting that the ONS Quarterly National Accounts found that the household debt to income ratio has decreased to 136% in Q4 2021, down from a high of 163% in Q1 2008. Around three quarters of total debt is secured against housing. Unsecured debt as a share of household income is now 32% (Q4 2021), down from its peak of 43% before the financial crisis (Q1 2007).

Retrospective analysis of trends in consumer credit product usage is produced by other organisations, including the Bank of England’s monthly statistical releases on money and credit and the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Surveys.