HM Treasury has published the first ever Government Debt Fairness Charter for people who owe personal debt to central government. It outlines how people repaying these debts should be treated, as well as some additional actions that people may need to take to help this process. This includes taking action to understand an individual’s situation, raising awareness of available advice and support, and communicating suitably clearly.
The Charter has been developed by the Government Debt Management Function (GDMF) Functional Centre, who provide expertise and strategic leadership for the wider GDMF, which includes c.7,000 public servants who work across 20+ ministerial departments and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). It has been designed to work alongside other resources including the Debt Management Vulnerability Toolkit and Economic Abuse Toolkit, and responds to feedback raised through the Fairness in Debt Management Call for Evidence.
This is the first version of the Debt Fairness Charter, and it will be reviewed annually.