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divdiv class=story-body readability=38 span class=story-date#13; span class=date19 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time22:30 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Much more must be done to help the UK's poorest families tackle problem debt, a Conservative-leaning think tank says./p#13; pThe Centre for Social Justice, which helped shape the 2010 Tory manifesto, says the average UK household has debts of £54,000, including mortgages - nearly twice the level of a decade ago./p#13; pIt says the poorest 10% of households have average debts that are more than four times their income./p#13; pThose households need affordable credit and free debt advice, it adds./p#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childProblem debt can have a corrosive impact on people and families”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditChristian Guy, Centre for Social Justice/span#13; #13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_2The Maxed Out report, led by former Labour work and pensions minister Chris Pond, says the average debt repayments of people in that group were nearly half of their gross monthly income,/p#13; pBut the authors say they have avoided the easy assumption of blaming individual responsibility./p#13; pNor were payday lenders, the housing bubble or the banking crash to blame, they say./p#13; span class=cross-head'Corrosive impact'/span#13; pCentre for Social Justice director Christian Guy said: Years of increased borrowing, rising living costs and struggling to save has forced many families into a debt trap that is proving very difficult to escape./p#13; pProblem debt can have a corrosive impact on people and families./p#13; pBBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said the poorest people could often access banking and credit only at a premium, with onerous terms making it more likely they would go overdrawn and suffer penalty charges./p#13; pMr Guy said the poorest people in the UK were cut off from mainstream banking and have no choice now but to turn to loan sharks and high-cost lenders./p#13; pThe report says payday lenders have increased business from £900m in 2008/2009 to more than £2bn in 2011/2012./p#13; pAnd it also identifies a lack of financial education, saying stdies suggest two-fifths of young people are unable to differentiate between being overdrawn or in credit on a bank statement./p#13; pIt says more than 26,000 UK households have been accepted by councils as homeless in the past five years because of mortgage and rent arrears./p#13; pMr Pond said that with falling real incomes and increasing costs of basic essentials, many, especially the most vulnerable, are sliding further into problem debt./p#13; pThe costs to those affected, in stress and mental disorders, relationship breakdown and hardship is immense./p#13; pBut so too is the cost to the nation, measured in lost employment and productivity and in an increased burden on public services./p#13; div class=comment-introduction readability=-49#13; p class=introductionWhat are your experiences of debt? Is enough being done to help people tackle the problem? Send us your comments using the form below./p#13; #13;/div#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center