Number Of Households On Low Incomes In Arrears ‘Has Tripled' During Pandemic

Experts are warning of a “debt crisis” for millions of families in the UK after research revealed the number of households on low incomes in arrears has tripled since the pandemic hit. A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) into households in the bottom 40 per cent of incomes in the UK – those with an income of £24,752 or less – shows a third of them are in arrears with household bills, compared with around 11 per cent prior to the pandemic.

- May Bulman

Of these, 950,000 are in rent arrears, 1.4 million are behind on council tax bills and 1.4 million are behind on electricity and gas bills. Working-age households on low incomes – those aged 1864 – have been particularly hard hit, with 44 per cent of them in arrears, while for households aged 18-24 this rises to almost three-quarters (71 per cent).

The findings, based on a survey of 4,193 low income UK households, show that a large majority of households who are now behind on their household bills (87 per cent) said that they were always or often able to pay all their bills in full and on time before Covid hit.

“There is a debt crisis hanging over millions of families on low incomes,” said Katie Schmuecker, deputy director for policy and partnerships at JRF. “Behind these figures are parents gripped by anxiety, wondering how they will put food on their children’s plates and pay the gas bill; young people forced to rely on friends to help cover their rent and avoid eviction.”