The Scottish Government have released figures showing who the top five providers of the Scottish Debt Arrangement Scheme were in 2017/18.

The largest provider by far, was the UK debt charity, Stepchange.

This was followed by four other providers, only two of whom are Scottish-only providers: specialist private debt firm, Carrington Dean and also Citizen Advice Scotland member, Citizen Advice Rights Fife.

In total, there are 16 providers named,  4 of whom are local authorities, 3 Citizen Advice Bureaux and 7 insolvency practitioner firms.

The list only names those providers who did more than 25 Debt Payment Programmes (DPPs) in 2017/18, but notes “other ” money advice providers account for 14.9% of all other DPPs delivered.

Reduction in numbers linked to cut in public funding of money advice services

However, the 2,318 Debt Payments Programmes that were approved in 2017-18, represents a 45% reduction in the number of Debt Payment Programmes that were approved three years earlier in 2014-15.

Local authority funded money advice services over that period also saw a 45% reduction in funding, suggesting the fall in number is linked with cuts in funding for money advice services. 

What is the Debt Arrangement Scheme?

The Scottish Debt Arrangement Scheme is a formal debt repayment plan that allows consumers who are struggling with their debts to repay them through an organised plan.

Benefits of the Scheme are it:

• Freezes all interest and charges;
• Those in the Scheme only make one payment per month; and
• Borrowers are protected from all debt recovery action by lenders.

For more information on the Debt Arrangement Scheme, visit my page on it here.