What you need to know this week
- Bank Rate maintained at 4% after MPC vote (meeting ending 5 Nov 2025).
- HM Treasury published the Financial Inclusion Strategy on 5 Nov 2025 with funding and referral-route commitments.
- Ofgem published Debt Relief Scheme (DRS) proposals (6 Nov 2025) and data showing £4.43bn domestic energy debt to June 2025.
- Ofgem and suppliers encourage consumers to reclaim c.£240m in closed-account credit; 1.9m closed accounts still hold credit.
- Money Advice Trust published the 2nd edition of the Help! Support Needs Starter Guide (Purple Tuesday) — 120+ support needs and new transport support items.
- ICO consultation on data-protection enforcement procedural guidance open; responses close 23 Jan 2026.
- FCA extended motor-finance compensation consultation to 5pm on 12 Dec 2025; final rules expected early 2026 (Feb/Mar).
- Equity release market Q3 2025: lending £639m (up 4% year-on-year).
- Personal Insolvency Review (PIR) signals simplification and increased emphasis on debt relief; DRO and IVA performance remain under scrutiny.
- Debt advice capacity and delivery to be scaled via MaPS commissioning and a new Consumer Energy Debt Advice service funded by an energy advice levy.
- Data collection and reporting changes signalled: PSD returns, DMP reporting and a move to quarterly cycles for new returns.
- Key industry events: IPA conference (6 Nov 2025, Manchester), MALG (13 Nov 2025, Leeds), Credit-Connect awards (22 Nov 2025, Manchester), CIVEA enforcement event (27 Nov 2025, London), Debt Buyer/DMP/BPO (4 Dec 2025, Lowry).
Read the full summary – here
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