Households and Nation: Deeper and Deeper in Debt. As of the third quarter of 2024, total household financial liabilities were £2.25 trillion; as of December 2024, Public Sector Net Debt (PSND) was £2.83 trillion
Lord Livermore, Treasury, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL4200):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what are the current levels of (1) personal, (2) national, debt in the United Kingdom. (HL4200)
Tabled on: 20 January 2025
Answer:
Lord Livermore:
The Government regularly engages with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels. According to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee in its November 2024 Financial Stability Report, household debt as a share of income fell to 130% in Q2 2024 from 132% at the end of 2023, and borrowers slightly increased their aggregate savings buffers in 2024 making them more resilient to potential economic shocks. The Money and Pensions Service conducts an annual survey of people in financial difficulty in the UK. The results of their latest survey were published on 29 February 2024.
As of December 2024, Public Sector Net Debt (PSND) was 97.2% of GDP. Net financial debt (PSNFL), the measure targeted by the Government’s fiscal rule, was 84.5%.
Date and time of answer: 28 Jan 2025 at 12:00.
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If these percentages mean very little to you, the House of Lords Library has kindly provided some interpretation:
In cash terms, the percentages quoted below are as follows:
- Household debt
As of Q2 2024, total household financial liabilities stood at £2.23tr. This compared with £2.20tr in Q4 2023. Note that in December 2024 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data for Q3 2024. As of Q3 2024, total household financial liabilities were £2.25tr (Office for National Statistics, ‘Households (S.14): Total financial liabilities (AF.L): Liability: Current price: £m: NSA’, 23 December 2024).
- Public sector debt
As of December 2024, Public Sector Net Debt (PSND) was £2.83tr. Public Sector Net financial debt (PSNFL), the measure targeted by the Government’s fiscal rule, was £2.46tr (Office for National Statistics, ‘Public sector finances, UK: December 2024’. Table 3, 22 January 2025).
