Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many over-indebted consumers there were from each socio-economic group in the most recent period for which figures are available.

HM Treasury does not hold information on the number or profile of over-indebted consumers, nor is there any universally agreed definition of what constitutes an over-indebted consumer.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) has statutory responsibility to assist members of the public with the management of debt, and within this remit MAS publishes data on the levels of over-indebtedness in the UK. Their most recent report, A Picture of Over-Indebtedness, estimates the statistical likelihood of individuals being over indebted based on a number of characteristics and is available online:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/corporate/a-picture-of-over-indebtedness

The technical report includes detailed data and a description of the methodology, and is also available online:

https://masassets.blob.core.windows.net/cms/files/000/000/336/original/MAS_PictureOverindebtedness_TechnicalReport_March2016.pdf