The Centre for Economic Justice HELPING HOUSEHOLDS IN DEBT - Anna Round, Shreya Nanda,

Our primary purpose is to conduct and promote research into, and the education of the public in, the economic, social and political sciences, science and technology, the voluntary sector and social enterprise, public services, and industry and commerce. [...] Between 2016 and 2019: • people in the north east of England were more likely to hold consumer debt • debt-to-income ratios were highest in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East not far behind • people in London were more likely than those in other areas to report struggling financially pre-pandemic (housing costs are likely to be a major factor); they are. [...] Of the poorest 10 per cent of households (by income) in the UK: • around 61 per cent have financial debt, compared to 33 per cent in the highest 10 per cent • around 35 per cent have debts worth more than the total of their assets • around 25 per cent of people spend more than a quarter of their income on servicing debts or are in arrears, compared to just 6 per cent in the highest 10 per cent • a. [...] FIGURE 2.12: PEOPLE IN THE NORTH EAST AND THE EAST MIDLANDS ARE MOST AT RISK OF EXPERIENCING PROBLEM DEBT Share of population at risk of experiencing problem debt, by region 9% 16% Created with Datawrapper Source: Authors’ analysis of University of Essex (2020a and 2020b) 22 IPPR | Helping households in debt People in the North East and the East Midlands are estimated to be most at risk of experie. [...] The Centre for Cities found that the largest behaviour changes as a result of the virus were found in large cities, and largest of all in London, with sharp falls in the number of workers travelling into the city centre in March 2020 (Centre for Cities 2020).