Following on from the June 2020 NEA policy paper “The Gathering Storm: Utility Debt and Covid-19”, this paper provides an evidence synthesis of personal debt, both prior and post the Covid-19 outbreak, with a focus on the shift from consumer debt, such as loans and credit cards, to household debts, such as arrears with utility providers, offering a comparison of known debt levels in energy, water and local government.

This year’s UK Fuel Poverty Monitor (UKFPM) reviews the events that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they have impacted vulnerable energy consumers and the organisations that look to support them, cataloguing the response to this challenge from these organisations. It concludes with an investigation of the policies, strategies and other key actions that are urgently needed to address the impact of the pandemic this winter and beyond.