Debt advice figures for Scotland, from the Money and Pensions Service and StepChange.
An estimated 13% of adults in Scotland needed debt advice in 2024.
Source: MoneyView 2025: How people in the UK feel about money, Money and Pensions Service, 2024
Survey of 12,534 adults interviewed July to October 2024 (analysis base 12,354).
StepChange recorded 19 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2025.
Source: Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet, StepChange, 2025
Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet; calendar year; clients' first fully completed debt advice session. Clients per 10,000 of local adult population. The 2025 yearbook says client location is assigned by postcode lookup.
StepChange recorded 18 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2024.
Source: Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet, StepChange, 2024
Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet; calendar year; clients' first fully completed debt advice session. Other editions published: 2024 yearbook 17. Clients per 10,000 of local adult population. The 2025 yearbook says 2024 regional data were restated using postcode lookup, and 2024 per-10,000 figures were weighted in line with 2025.
StepChange recorded 18 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2023.
Source: Statistics Yearbook 2024 data sheet, StepChange, 2023
Statistics Yearbook 2024 data sheet; calendar year; clients' first fully completed debt advice session. Clients per 10,000 of local adult population.
5% of new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange lived in Scotland in 2025.
Source: Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet, StepChange, 2025
Statistics Yearbook 2025 data sheet; calendar year; clients' first fully completed debt advice session. The 2025 yearbook says client location is assigned by postcode lookup.
Among new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland who were responsible for paying council tax, 30% were in arrears on it in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
Among new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland, 38% were in energy arrears in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
Among new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland, 25% had a negative budget in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
New clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland had average unsecured debts of £18,326 at the time of advice in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
New clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland had average arrears of £5,470 at the time of advice in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted. Published as 'Average arrears'.
New clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange in Scotland had an average monthly income of £1,955 in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
StepChange recorded 8,778 new clients completing first-time debt advice in Scotland in 2025.
Source: Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset, StepChange, 2025
Scotland in the Red 2025 dataset; calendar year; new Scottish clients who completed a full first-time debt advice session (8,778 clients in 2025); all-clients columns used, vulnerable-client columns not extracted.
An estimated 15% of adults in Scotland needed debt advice in 2022.
Source: Need for debt advice and how households are reacting to changes in the cost of living (blog, 25 January 2023), Money and Pensions Service, 2022
Debt Need Survey 2022, run in August and September 2022.
An estimated 13% of adults in Scotland needed debt advice in 2024. StepChange recorded 19 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2025. StepChange recorded 18 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2024.
An estimated 13% of adults in Scotland needed debt advice in 2024.
StepChange recorded 19 new clients completing first-time debt advice per 10,000 adults in Scotland in 2025.
5% of new clients completing first-time debt advice at StepChange lived in Scotland in 2025.