Financial Wellbeing
The Department has policy responsibility on financial capability, financial inclusion, debt and commissioning of debt advice services in Northern Ireland.
Breathing Space
Background
The UK Government launched its “Breathing Space” debt respite scheme in May 2021 to give people in problem debt the opportunity to take control of their finances.
Breathing Space, which is currently only available to those living in England and Wales, is a period during which an individual in problem debt is provided with respite from creditor action to fully engage with debt advice and seek a sustainable solution to their debts.
The Department’s original approach was to consider introducing both Breathing Space and the Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP) as part of a wider debt‑respite package, aligning with the policy direction taken by the UK Government. The SDRP is a proposed statutory debt solution that would allow individuals to repay their debts through a single, affordable plan.
As the SDRP has not been introduced at UK level, pending a wider review of the personal insolvency framework, only Breathing Space is under consideration at this time.
Debt Respite Policy Proposals for Northern Ireland - call for evidence summary of responses
As part of early scoping and to gather views ,the Department launched a Call for Evidence to inform the policy development, design and implementation of a debt respite scheme in Northern Ireland. The Call for Evidence was launched on 14 December 2022 and closed on 1 February 2023. The survey also sought views on whether the England and Wales Breathing Space debt respite scheme could best meet the needs of people in Northern Ireland.
The Department subsequently analysed the survey feedback and produced a report summarising and analysing the responses received.