Govt policies 'should help consumers to lower debts'

Ministers should look at ways in which consumers might be able to reduce their levels of debt and save more, an expert believes, in a development which may appeal to those looking to manage credit card debt.

Figures published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have revealed that as many as 42 per cent of those polled in a recent survey had increased the rate at which they were making non-mortgage debt repayments.

The ABI's Dr Rebecca Driver believes that more policies are now required to match the current attitudes of consumers.

Dr Driver, director of research and chief economist at the organisation, commented that ministers should "deliver policies that appeal to consumers' increasing sense of financial responsibility, helping more people become financially independent by increasing saving as well as reducing debt".

Earlier in the month, the ABI looked at a number of ways in which people might be able to plan their retirement finances more effectively.

Posted by Tom Burroughs.