Parents ‘using kids’ cash to repay debts’

Many thousands of parents living in the UK are using money given to them by their grown-up children to repay their own debts, according to a new study.

Figures compiled on behalf of Scottish Widows have shown that almost £11 billion has been handed over by people in the UK to their parents who had found themselves struggling financially.

In a third of cases where parents are asking their children for money, the process is motivated by a desire to become debt free, the latest figures indicate.

However, the research also confirmed that there is considerably more cash being given by parents to their children than the other way around.

“It’s obvious that parents have felt the pinch as a result of being ‘sapped’ for thousands of pounds from their adult children and are now turning the tables on them and ‘sapping back’,” said Anne Young, savings expert at Scottish Widows.

David Malcolm, head of social policy at the National Union of Students, said recently that young people at university could face more debt when they graduate in future because their parents will be less able to help them out financially.