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Monthly Debt News (Aug 2023)




(Aug 2023)


Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from various sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple.


This month’s Debt News includes: the cost of living increase in shoplifting, families struggle with the cost of child care, a rise in the number of clients seeking breathing space, a man in debt for driving in London’s low emission zone, student debt 3 times high in England than Scotland and car repossession rise. Finally, bite-size stats on insolvencies, Breathing Space registration, crisis due to food cost and disqualification of directors by insolvency services.


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The cost of living crisis sees supermarket shoplifting SOAR by 75%


Desperate Brits are resorting to pinching essentials as data shows police saw as much as a 75% hike in shoplifting reports - use our interactive map to see how your area was affected. Shoplifting callouts to supermarkets rose by as much as 75% last year as the cost of living crisis saw hungry Brits turn to stealing, it can be revealed.


More here: Link

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Families struggle with the rising cost of summer childcare.


A mum of three has told the BBC she has had to go into debt to pay for childcare. Jane Carmichael who has three children said affording summer childcare was “impossible". Research shows London parents pay a weekly average of £177.13 per child for summer holiday childcare, 25% more than the figure in the east of England.

More here: Link

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Leap in numbers seeking debt breathing space - as corporate insolvencies hit highest since 2009

Official figures show more people are using a mechanism to secure legal protections from creditors and how the end of COVID aid is hurting businesses in the tough economy. The Insolvency Service data covering England and Wales during the second quarter of the year showed 6,342 companies were registered as insolvent in the three months to the end of June, 13% more than a year earlier.


More here: Link

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Man in debt after driving motorhome through London’s low emission zone


Geoffrey Eaton, 53, was hit with a £2,000 bill after driving his motorhome to a campsite within the M25 and failing to pay the low emission charge. A 10-mile trip plunged a father-of-two into credit card debt by costing him £2,000 after he drove his motorhome to and from a campsite in London’s low emission zone (LEZ) on Easter weekend “without knowing” he was being charged.


More here: Link

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Average student debt three times higher in England than Scotland, new figures show


The SNP, which commissioned the analysis, said young people were being forced into "obscene levels of debt" as it criticised Labour for dropping its pledge to scrap tuition fees.

More here: Link

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Car repossessions rise to the highest level for nearly two years


Voluntary terminations (VTs), voluntary surrenders and repossessions for cars rose in May 2023 to the highest level for nearly two years according to the Motor Auction Group (MAG).


More here: Link

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Bite-size stats


During Q2 2023, there were 26,390 (seasonally adjusted) individual insolvencies, as shown in Figure 1, comprised of 17,458 IVAs, 7,106 DROs and 1,826 bankruptcies (Insolvency Service

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There were 21,232 Breathing Space registrations in Q2 2023. This is 26% higher than in Q2 2022. Of the 21,232 Breathing Space registrations, 20,919 were Standard Breathing Space registrations and 313 were Mental Health Breathing Space registrations (Insolvency Service

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The 59% of adults who said that their cost of living had risen in the previous month were most likely to say that rising food costs were a reason for this. Of those, 97% said that a rise in the price of food shopping was a reason why their cost of living had gone up - (ONS)

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During 2022/23, 932 directors were disqualified under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 as a result of the work of the Insolvency Service. The number of director disqualifications in 2022/23 was higher than in 2021/22.   (Insolvency Service)

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