1 in 4 of debt charity’s clients receiving benefit or tax credit

Just over a quarter (26 percent) of a leading debt charity's clients claim one of the five main income replacement benefits.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service's (CCCS) Debt Dashboard for quarter three 2010 reviewed which benefits made up its clients' household incomes, and at what proportion. The charity wanted to understand the impact that recently announced cuts to welfare spending would have on its clients' ability to repay their debts.

The review found:

CCCS will have given debt advice to approximately 110,000 people claiming at least one type of benefit or tax credit by the end of 2010
 
The average income of a CCCS client claiming Jobseeker's Allowance is just £7,258  a year
Clients claiming benefits receive an average of £478 a month, which represents more than a third of their income

Delroy Corinaldi, CCCS External Affairs Director, comments: "Over 100,000 people who were claiming at least one type of benefit or tax credit sought help from CCCS this year.

"The imminent benefit changes are likely to have a significant impact on their ability to manage their already difficult financial situation. CCCS is going to monitor the impact that the cuts have on families throughout the UK."