Money worries can affect everyone at some point, and when they do, it can throw a shadow over everything else. It can be hard to put the problem in perspective, especially if debts start to build up faster than they can be dealt with.
Breathing space is an innovative new government scheme which fulfils the 2017 manifesto commitments and helps those in debt in our community. A recent report shows that up to 8.3 million people in the UK have debts they can’t pay back. This can be detrimental to many aspects of life from being able to support themselves, to both mental and physical health.
This is why the Government has launched the new breathing space scheme to make it easier for debtors to repay money.
The scheme provides those in debt with protection from creditor action for a 60 day period during which any interest is frozen, meaning the debt can be paid back in smaller lumps and over a longer time; guaranteeing those with debt the breathing space they need. A wide variety of people are eligible for the scheme including those with household debts; which targets a big proportion of debtors in the UK. The Government hopes this scheme will bring us closer to eliminating debt altogether and that this new scheme is the right way forward.
The Department for Work and Pensions has also been investing £43 million to trial ways of providing specialist employment support for people with mental health conditions. The Access to Work Mental Health Support Service has been established to help individuals with a mental health condition who are absent from work or finding work difficult, and the scheme is expanding to help even more people.
There are so many services out there to provide help for a range of different worries, including the Citizens Advice Bureau to name but one. So don’t despair and do reach out via online searches for government and charity assistance or let me know if I can assist.
DAME CAROLINE SPELMAN
