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I've seen it said today: the "UK faces worst economic hit in 300 years as coronavirus damage to last until 2024". What terrifies me just as much is the hit for households. This gets reported on less, but plenty of research exists showing the extent of the problem (Thread: 1/8)
Earlier in the week @karlhandscomb and Lindsay Judge from the @resfoundation found that half (54 per cent) of adults from families with the lowest incomes borrowed in recent months to cover everyday costs such as housing and food https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/caught-in-a-covid-trap/ (2/8)
From that same report: "Almost one-in-three (29 per cent) adults that has had a persistently low income through the pandemic say they cannot afford basic items such as fresh fruit and vegetables every day, or to turn on the heating when required." (3/8)
Also this wk: @annainnewcastle @shreyagnanda & @lesleyfrankin found a clear relationship between demographics &financial difficulty: "young ppl, ethnic minorities, renters, Londoners,& people on low incomes all more likely to struggling financially before/during the crisis" (4/8)
"People from black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups were more likely to report struggling financially and being behind on bills before the crisis" https://www.ippr.org/files/2020-11/helping-households-in-debt-nov20.pdf (5/8)
This time last week @StepChange found that household borrowing and arrears linked to the coronavirus pandemic soared 66% since May to ÂŁ10.3bn. https://www.stepchange.org/Portals/0/assets/pdf/tackling-the-coronavirus-personal-debt-crisis.pdf (6/8)
From the same report: "The number of people who are in severe debt has risen to 1.2 million – nearly doubling since March – with a further 3 million people at risk of falling into arrears after taking on extra short-term loans." (7/8)
There's no simple way out of this problem. It's not obvious who the problem naturally sits with, or whose ultimate responsibility it is. But it is very obvious there exists a personal debt ticking time bomb. (8/8)
