If independent forecasts are correct and unemployment rises by more than 2% in 2011, the demand for debt advice by the middle of next year will exceed that seen at the peak of the financial crisis, a new report has warned.

The report, produced by Dr John Gathergood, an economist at The University of Nottingham, and entitled Demand, Capacity and Need for Debt Advice in the UK was based on the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey and supplemented by data from the free-to-client debt advice sector. The report reveals that between 2008 and 2009, there was an increase of 350,000 individuals seeking free debt advice. In 2010, 1.4 million people have received advice from charities such as National Debtline, Citizens Advice and CCCS – one in every 33 UK adults.

The research also found that, at any given time, up to five million people report arrears on consumer credit, failure to keep up with mortgage payments, or that meeting credit commitments is a ‘heavy burden’. Of these, just one in six seek advice from any source.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, which commissioned the research, said: “The last few years have required debt advice charities like ours to bring about a step change in our capacity