Experts see debt problems almost treble

East Staffordshire Citizens Advice Bureau has seen the amount of debt it helps its clients with almost triple over the last three years.

According to the Burton Mail, the organisation has dealt with debt problems worth a total of £25 million in the past 12 months, compared to £7.7 million in 2005-06.

And the figure could increase in the coming months with East Staffordshire Borough Council economic regeneration manager Dean Piper saying that the number of people on Job Seekers Allowance is expected to rise as a result of difficulties in the jobs market.

Statistics from Credit Action showed that at the end of August, 2,696 people were being made redundant every day on average, while the network of Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) was dealing with 9,300 new debt problems.

The CAB’s Dawn Trigg was quoted by the Burton Mail as saying: “In this heightened time of a recession, there is a real need for people to seek advice.”

By Chris Trimble