Young need debt aid

There is an insufficient support network for those young people who are in significant debt, says Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vincent Cable.

During a fringe meeting on young people and debt at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Blackpool, Mr Cable made it clear that the nation was entering unknown territory on its levels of consumer debt.

He stated that our current generation of young people have little memory of the borrowing crashes of the 80s and 90s, while their personal financial situations were often exacerbated by student debts. He said that young people in debt no longer have the safety net they once did and that there should be free, unbiased and generic financial advice available.

Mr Cable said: "There are some institutions, including some of the pillars of society, that do lend irresponsibly."

He believes that information on debts should be pooled allowing lenders to make more responsible decisions and that the government was contributing to the problem by not releasing information on student debts or council tax arrears.

Ilan Jacobs, head of public affairs at Egg, was also at the meeting and pointed out that Egg's research had revealed that 30 per cent of young people were unable to form a consistent and productive relationship with their money.

He added: "While it's the lenders duty to lend responsibly, it can't be the lenders exclusive responsibility."