StepChange Debt Charity
UK debt advice charity, founded in Leeds in 1993 as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
StepChange's November 2025 criteria change was cited on 20 October 2026 as the reason Breathing Space registrations had remained below their earlier level.
Last refreshed: 22 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for StepChange Debt Charity
Changed its Breathing Space suitability criteria in November 2025
Is Britain Actually Broke?: Individual insolvency rate rises to 28.0Background
StepChange Debt Charity is a UK organisation providing debt advice. Its role in the Debt Respite Scheme is unusually visible because The Insolvency Service describes it as the largest money advice group by number of Breathing Space cases. That scale means its application criteria can affect how many people enter the statutory scheme.
Its criteria help determine scheme access for its own clients, while The Insolvency Service records the resulting registrations nationally. A fall after a criteria change can therefore show reduced use through StepChange without proving that fewer households need debt help. Breathing Space figures cover one statutory route; they do not represent the charity's whole workload or all UK demand for debt advice.
Its criteria moved the national count
The Insolvency Service said on 20 October 2026 that Breathing Space registrations had been lower since December 2025 after StepChange changed its suitability criteria in November. September recorded 5,149 registrations, 33% fewer than a year earlier.
For StepChange, the figures show the reach of its operating choices. The Insolvency Service described it as the largest money advice group by number of Breathing Space cases, so changing whom it considers suitable can shift The National total. Its role here concerns access to one scheme. The wider rise in formal insolvency came from other measures and was not attributed to the charity.
What is StepChange Debt Charity?
What did StepChange change about Breathing Space?
Why have Breathing Space registrations fallen?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 22 October 2026. Editorial standards.