Tackling London’s Household Debts Problem - Eleni Karagiannaki

Abstract Using data from wave 13 of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (Understanding Society) and StepChange clients’ database this report provides evidence on the prevalence and the nature of household over-indebtedness in London (compared to the UK overall); and on how the risk and severity of over-indebtedness as well as the reach of debt advice services differ for different socio-economic g. [...] However, the median levels of financial debt are lower in London than in the UK (£4,200 compared to £5,210).14 The difference in the picture when looking at the mean and the median differences suggests that financial debt is more unequally distributed across the indebted population in London than in the UK overall. [...] 3 Comparing the profile of people with over-indebtedness and debt advice needs in Understanding Society with the profile of StepChange clients Using a selection of the indicators above, I developed a composite measure to classify the population in London and the UK by the severity of over-indebtedness. [...] The resulting measure can be used to categorise the Understanding Society sample according to the severity of over-indebtedness and by the level of urgency debt advice needs in terms of both the size of financial debt, its potential impact and the extent to which it is combined with low living standards. [...] There is an interesting contrast between London and the rest of the UK in the degree of over- indebtedness that different groups face: on the one hand people in the Bangladeshi, other Asian and Black African ethnic groups who live in London are less likely to be highly over-indebted than people from these ethnic groups who live in other parts of the UK, while on the other hand, people in the India.