London’s population deserves better debt advice
Treading Water is the evocative title of a new report that has been published by the London Debt Strategy Group. The report examines the levels of debt affecting people in England’s capital, and shows that, in the last 3 years, there has been a 75% increase in the number of young Londoners struggling with debt. In 2008, 17-24 year olds owed an average of 3,500 – that figure has now risen to nearly 6,000. The fact that people are finding their debts problematic is clear, and illustrated by data from the Legal Services Commission which shows that, between November 2007 and December 2009, there was a 140% increase in the number of young people seeking debt advice.