A new CAS campaign is encouraging people to seek advice if they are worried about their debts, as research shows over 660,000 people cite debt as impacting their mental health.
Analysis of polling from research company YouGov suggests around 665,148 of people in Scotland have seen their mental health and wellbeing affected by debt.
The “Stressed about Debt?” campaign aims to encourage people who are worried about their bills or stressed about debt to seek advice from the Citizens Advice network.
People can go to www.cas.org.uk/stressed and pick an advice route that works for them, such as online self-help tools, online advice pages or one to one advice from their local CAB.
The CAB Service helps improve people’s financial situation and for some this includes debt write -off. Since last spring CABs have helped write off over £11 million worth of debt, with the average amount written off being over £12,600 per client.
CAS Financial Health spokesperson Sarah Jayne Dunn said:
“There is a clear link between money and mental health and that will have been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.
“Hundreds of thousands of people across the country, through no fault of their own have fallen behind on bills and find themselves in debt. Some people will be in debt for the first time, others will have seen their existing debt get worse.
“There’s no shame in having debt, and it’s completely understandable to be stressed and anxious about it. For many people, debt is something they ignore until it builds up and becomes overwhelming.
“That’s why we’ve launched the Stressed about Debt campaign, to encourage people who are worried to seek advice and not let those worries build up until they are suffocating.
“You don’t need to go to a CAB to get advice, instead you can check our online advice pages or use our interactive self-help tools.
“Our network gets real results for people – last year people who saw a gain having sought advice were more than £3,700 better off. Our advice is impartial, confidential, and crucially free – we don’t charge for our advice, and we never will.”
Scottish Government Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP said:
“I welcome this important and timely campaign from Citizens Advice Scotland. Advice services play a critical role in helping people to navigate the current cost crisis and to access the support and information they need. The cost-of-living crisis is putting a huge strain on households which is why the Scottish Government is doing all it can to deliver support.
“This year we will invest over £12.5 million in a range of advice services providing free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice. This includes more than £4.45 million to Citizens Advice Scotland and the network of Bureaux for the Money Talk Team, which offers free confidential and holistic advice. Access to free, confidential and impartial advice through the CAB network, either online or in person, can make a massive difference for people.”
Alex Cumming, Executive Director of Operations at SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), said:
“Poor mental health can be a factor in building up debt, and debt can result in mental health problems, including stress and anxiety. Debt and mental health problems often form a vicious circle, and it’s important to seek help for both.
“At SAMH, we hear time and again from the people we support, including those who contact our information service, that they are experiencing issues with money at the same time as needing help with their mental health.
“We welcome Citizens Advice Scotland’s campaign and encourage anyone who is stressed about debt to take that first step towards getting the support they need.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
“Stressed about debt?” launches on Monday 19th February 2024 and runs until the end of March.
A video for the campaign, highlighting cases of people who have been helped by the network can be shared or embedded in online copy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os-Qv09KO_0
Population estimate is CAS analysis based on Scotland’s adult population being 84% of 5,479,900 so 4,603,116.
Source: Most recent population estimates from the National Records of Scotland, Figure 5 at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/population-estimates/mid-21/mid-year-pop-est-21-report.pdf
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1005 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th - 12th December 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scotland adults (aged 18+).
YouGov Research found that 17% of people either entered debt or saw their existing debt get worse. Based on these population figures that works out to 782,528 people
The poll found 85% of people in debt said being in debt had impacted their mental health, working out to 665,148 people.