This report forms part of the Families and Children Strategic Analysis Programme (FACSAP) and details analyses carries out using a number of national surveys in order to examine the characteristics of those families that are in debt, as well as the extent and nature of their financial difficulties.
It provides a unique insight into households' movements into and out of arrears using longitudinal data from the Families and Children Survey and British Household Panel Study. It also identifies key trigger points that lead to individuals getting into debt and those factors that help protect people from going into debt.
The research focuses in particular on low come groups and how debt relates to hardship and movement into work.