Thousands may need debt advice as government is reclaiming £1.85bn
Thousands may need debt advice as government is reclaiming £1.85bn
- Wednesday, 17 March 2010Thousands of people on benefits who have been overpaid by the government could be left needing
debt management advice as officials try to claw the money back.
The Commons spending committee said that low income families were being forced into debt to repay the money.
1.6 million people have been overpaid, with 30,000 owing more than £10,000 and about 8,600 people owing more than £20,000.
Edward Leigh, the Tory MP who headed up the committee, said that policy needed to change if indebtedness was to be reduced.
"If the department is to deal with this rising trend in benefit debt, then it has to improve the way it approaches the prevention of debt," he said, adding that "the current economic malaise is only likely to make worse the rate at which debt can be recovered."
The Guardian has suggested that MPs could sell off part or all of this debt to the private sector, though committee members have recommended that any such action should safeguard those indebted through no fault of their own.
Whether the government sells the debt on or not, thousands of people, many among the poorest in the country, have been left in need of
debt management advice.
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