England and Wales debt hotspots
New Citizens Advice data reveals areas with biggest debt problems.
Denbighshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Stoke-on-Trent are the areas of England and Wales with the most debt problems, according to new data from Citizens Advice.
Over 0.5% of the population of each of those areas turned to Citizens Advice for help in the last year.
Debt hotspots
The data details 20 locations where the highest proportion of the local population has asked Citizens Advice for guidance on debt problems.
|
|
Location |
Citizens Advice debt client count |
Adult population of area |
% of population |
|
1 |
Denbighshire |
405 |
75,543 |
0.54% |
|
2 |
Merthyr Tydfil |
248 |
47,047 |
0.53% |
|
3 |
Stoke-on-Trent |
1,031 |
197,538 |
0.52% |
|
4 |
South Tyneside |
607 |
120,375 |
0.50% |
|
5 |
Darlington |
410 |
84,011 |
0.49% |
|
6 |
Salford |
908 |
186,074 |
0.49% |
|
7 |
Copeland |
276 |
57,730 |
0.48% |
|
8 |
North Tyneside |
776 |
162,866 |
0.48% |
|
9 |
Mendip |
411 |
87,198 |
0.47% |
|
10 |
Liverpool |
1,793 |
382,945 |
0.47% |
|
11 |
Stevenage |
303 |
65,743 |
0.46% |
|
12 |
Gateshead |
748 |
162,374 |
0.46% |
|
13 |
Middlesbrough |
499 |
108,559 |
0.46% |
|
14 |
Torfaen |
330 |
72,518 |
0.46% |
|
15 |
Northumberland |
1,166 |
258,389 |
0.45% |
|
16 |
Lincoln |
348 |
77,207 |
0.45% |
|
17 |
Cannock Chase |
336 |
77,765 |
0.43% |
|
18 |
Barrow-in-Furness |
240 |
55,910 |
0.43% |
|
19 |
Hastings |
310 |
72,338 |
0.43% |
|
20 |
Sandwell |
1,015 |
237,777 |
0.43% |
Source: Citizens Advice
The source of debts
The graph below illustrates how the problems brought to the charity's advisers have changed over recent years, with credit card and store credit issues sharply decreasing while debt problems with council tax and rent arrears have been creeping up.
Source: Citizens Advice
In the past, events like illness, redundancy or separation were the critical points in peoples’ lives at which advice on debt was sought. “But now priority debts such as council tax arrears are gradually building up,” Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, explains as people’s income is stretched and they “struggle to cover everyday costs”.
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