Debt: Under Pressure - Sharing a few startling facts from the CAB National Data Insight

I know I’ve shared before how much I value the national Citizens Advice Bureau cost of living briefings/ data insights. Their most recent one in February was titled ‘Debt: Under Pressure’, and it shared some startling facts about the state of debt in the UK. 

In January 2026, those working with the CAB (across the whole country) on debt issues find that at the end of each month, they are in a negative budget by the following amounts: £86 (for a low income household) or £37 (for the average client). This means, they cannot even begin to pay back their debt.

The amount of the average debt is at a record high too, just short of £10,000 per client, and predictably, the number of clients with 5 or more different types of debts is also increasing.  There is also a higher prevalence now of clients who present with debts built up because they got into arrears on their essential bills, rather than those who took credit/ loans etc. The landscape is shifting and substantially worsening. 

The issues with debt, are not just about money, though. 90% of the people presenting to the CAB with debt issues have struggled with their mental health in the last month, because of their debts.

On this last briefing, we also got to hear from Sharon Collard from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol. She shared that the number of UK households in serious financial difficulty has risen from 2.8 million, or about 10% of all households in Oct 21, to 4.3 million, 15% of all households in May 25. That is an abysmal rise and certainly reflects the stories we hear at the foodbank each week.

Sharon also reiterated the strong link between financial hardship and wellbeing – with both physical and mental health being impacted. There really does need to be some radical changes at the highest level of be able to address the debt landscape in the UK now.