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).
Key Themes
Monetary policy & macro stability link
- Description: MPC maintained Bank Rate at 4% (5–4 vote) on 5 November 2025; minority preferred a 0.25pp cut.
- Items: interest-rate decision, majority/minority vote split.
- Why it matters: interest-rate settings affect cost of capital, arrears risk and affordability assessments used in collections, credit risk modelling and forward provisioning.
Financial inclusion & capability link, link
- Description: Government strategy published 5 Nov 2025; MaPS to lead capability work and commissioning; focus on banking access, affordable credit, savings, insurance and debt advice funding.
- Items: increased debt-advice funding (>£100m industry levy), MaPS commissioning, workplace savings proposals, SFS promotion, energy-debt advisory service.
- Why it matters: creditors and collectors must align collection practices with national priorities (referral routes, SFS use), anticipate increased demand for specialist advice and adapt affordability/forbearance frameworks.
Energy sector, historic debt & Ofgem DRS link, link, link
- Description: Ofgem proposes a one-time Debt Relief Scheme for households in genuine difficulty; publishes data on rising consumer energy debt and closed-account credits.
- Items: DRS design questions (verification, PSR linkage), £4.43bn domestic energy debt to June 2025, c.£240m reclaimable closed-account balances, 1.9m closed accounts with credit.
- Why it matters: energy debt policy reshapes creditor verification, data-sharing expectations and collections cadence; collectors and advisers must prepare operationally for DRS implementation and customer outreach.
Consumer protection, enforcement & data governance link, link
- Description: ICO consultation on enforcement procedures; FCA progress on motor-finance redress and extension of consultation deadline.
- Items: ICO procedural guidance for UK GDPR/DPA 2018 enforcement (responses to 23 Jan 2026), FCA motor-finance consultation extended to 12 Dec 2025 with final rules early 2026.
- Why it matters: enforcement process changes affect investigation readiness, record retention and customer-data handling; motor-finance redress will require robust data trails and remediation frameworks.
Debt advice capacity, referral pathways & AI/triage link, link
- Description: Strategy actions emphasise scaled specialist advice, better operational delivery and new referral routes from non-advice settings.
- Items: MaPS commissioning, technology/triage/AI exploration, CEDA (Consumer Energy Debt Advice) funded by levy, promotion of SFS.
- Why it matters: increased referrals and demand require creditors to embed clear escalation routes; operational teams must integrate triage and referral capabilities and anticipate data and API-driven handoffs.
Vulnerability, accessibility and support needs link, link
- Description: Money Advice Trust’s second edition support-needs guide sets out 120+ adjustments, new transport support items and a refreshed Purple Pound estimate.
- Items: practical support needs across finance, energy, water and telecoms; living document with consumer contributions.
- Why it matters: firms must operationalise specific reasonable adjustments in collections and contact strategies, embed screening, and update staff training and channel options to meet regulatory expectations.
Personal insolvency reform & remedy oversight link, link
- Description: PIR update signals simplification, greater emphasis on debt relief and potential single-pathway thinking; IVA and DRO metrics reviewed at IPA conference.
- Items: DRO eligibility expansion impact, 49,602 new DROs and 209 revoked in 2024/25, IVA failure rates and VPR benchmarking.
- Why it matters: reform could alter take-on suitability assessments, creditor recovery profiles and compliance requirements for firms handling insolvency referrals or administering IVA/DRO cases.
Utilities & water sector performance link
- Description: Ofwat company performance report highlights variation in debt levels, social-tariff take-up and PSR reach across water companies.
- Items: benchmarking of 16 largest companies on debt, PSR registration and social tariff enrolment.
- Why it matters: firms servicing water debts should reassess social-tariff identification, cross-utility data sharing and targeted outreach to reduce arrears.
Market trends — equity release & later-life lending link
- Description: Equity release lending showed modest growth in Q3 2025 (lending £639m).
- Items: quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year lending comparisons.
- Why it matters: later-life lending trends inform underwriting, arrears forecasting and market segmentation for collectors and creditors dealing with older customer cohorts.
Operational readiness — reporting, PSD and DMP changes link
- Description: New Product Sales Data (PSD) returns and DMP reporting are moving to a quarterly cadence after a bedding-in period.
- Items: PSD timing, DMP reporting expectations, insolvency-case management system rollout delays (INSSight).
- Why it matters: reporting cadence changes require data-pipeline updates, reconciliation processes and resource planning for submission and remediation.
Events, collaboration and resourcing link, link
- Description: Industry events and sponsored collaborations (MEGA.AI) continue to shape sector dialogue on vulnerability, enforcement and technology.
- Items: IPA conference (6 Nov 2025, Manchester), enforcement forum (27 Nov 2025, London), Lowry event (4 Dec 2025).
- Why it matters: events provide operational updates, policy signals and peer benchmarking; firms should track outputs for strategic and compliance implications.
Key Statistics
- Bank Rate: 4% (MPC meeting ending 5 Nov 2025).
- Domestic consumer energy debt: £4.43 billion (to June 2025).
- Closed accounts with credit: 1.9 million; reclaimed closed-account balances c.£240 million.
- Estimated adults behind on energy bills: 6.4 million (increase of 824,000 since April 2023).
- Equity release lending Q3 2025: £639 million (Q2 2025: £636m; +4% v Q3 2024).
- Renters without contents insurance: 67% (May 2024 reference in FCA speech).
- Consumers who consistently pay down highest-interest balances first: <15%.
- Use of debt-advice or debt-management services: 22% of adults in difficulty (12 months to May 2024); 78% did not access support (circa 3.5m).
- DRO volumes 2024/25: 49,602 new DROs; 209 revoked.
- IVA first-year failure rate: 5.7% (2024).
Newsletter Contents
- Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 4% (MPC 5–4 vote).
- Government publishes Financial Inclusion Strategy (5 Nov 2025) with MaPS commissioning and funding commitments.
- Ofgem publishes Debt Relief Scheme proposals and energy-debt statistics (£4.43bn).
- Ofgem and suppliers encourage recovery of c.£240m in closed-account credits (1.9m accounts).
- Money Advice Trust publishes second edition of Help! Support Needs Starter Guide (120+ needs).
- ICO consults on data-protection enforcement procedures (responses by 23 Jan 2026).
- FCA extends motor-finance compensation consultation to 12 Dec 2025; final rules expected early 2026.
- Equity Release Council reports Q3 2025 lending of £639m.
- Personal Insolvency Review (PIR) advocates simplification and strengthened debt-relief focus.
- Water sector analysis shows variation in debt, PSR reach and social-tariff take-up (Ofwat report).
- Reporting changes signalled: PSD returns and DMP reporting to move to quarterly cycles after bedding-in.
- Events calendar: IPA conference 6 Nov 2025 (Manchester), MALG 13 Nov 2025 (Leeds), Credit-Connect 22 Nov 2025 (Manchester), CIVEA enforcement forum 27 Nov 2025 (London), Debt Buyer/DMP/BPO 4 Dec 2025 (Lowry).
Find the full DEMSA newsletter, commentary and links here
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