Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) regional variations in and (b) which (i) regions and (ii) towns and cities have the highest personal debt levels.

To inform policy making, the Government is committed to understanding personal debt levels across the UK and at a regional level; it does this by drawing on a number of different data sources. This is used to help individuals manage their money well, encourage them to build their financial resilience and seek appropriate help if they need support with their personal finances

Relevant organisations measure personal debt levels and define ‘problem debt’ in different ways. HM Treasury do not hold data on levels of personal debt or problem debt but monitors these measures regularly by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Financial Conduct Authority and by engaging with the debt advice sector and other relevant stakeholders on their research and findings.

The latest data on people’s personal finances were published by MaPS on 23 February 2022. MaPS monitors financial difficulty through an annual survey of 22,000 individuals. This includes a regional breakdown of how the need for debt advice changed since 2019 across the UK. The MaPS data shows that every region and nation of the UK has seen an increase in the number of people needing advice since 2019, and that the concentration of need is highest in London, the West Midlands and the North of England. The summary of their findings can be found in the link below:

Who needs debt advice in 2022? | The Money and Pensions Service (maps.org.uk)

MaPS also intends to publish constituency-level results later this year.