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How to prioritise and reduce your debts, and where to get free debt advice

• Updated: 21 December 2017

Alternatives to bankruptcy and the different types of agreements you can make with your creditors.

• Overview

  If you owe people money (your ‘creditors’) you can make arrangements to…

• Breathing Space (Debt Respite Scheme)

  If you live in England or Wales, you can get temporary protection from…

• Debt Management Plans

  A Debt Management Plan is an agreement between you and your creditors to…

• Administration orders

  An administration order is a way to deal with debt if you have a county…

• Individual Voluntary Arrangements

  An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is an agreement with your…

• Debt Relief Orders

  Debt Relief Orders (DROs) are one way to deal with your debts if you: owe…

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered her scene setter speech on Tuesday 4 November 2025.

• Updated: 4 November 2025

How HMRC uses debt enforcement powers, debt collection agencies and what happens if you live abroad when you do not pay your tax bill.

• Updated: 12 September 2025

Find out what help you can get to help you manage your debts.

When debt payments can be taken from your wages, changing how much you pay, paying it off early, and reporting a change to your circumstances

What happens if your company cannot pay its debts and is given a court judgment, statutory demand or winding-up order by your creditors

Statutory demands are a formal way of asking for a debt to be paid - get the forms to send, cancel or set aside a statutory demand.

• Updated: 23 July 2018

The DMO carries out the government’s debt management policy of minimising financing costs over the long term, taking account of risk. We minimise the cost of offsetting the government’s net cash flows over time, while operating in a risk appetite...

• Updated: 15 April 2021