Research & Campaigns
Real change starts by listening to people.
Every day, people come to Debt Talk because they are struggling with debt, rising living costs, insecure housing, low incomes, welfare issues and financial exclusion. While every person's story is different, we often see the same problems affecting family after family.
Those experiences tell us something important: many financial problems are not individual failures; they are symptoms of wider social and economic inequalities.
That is why research and campaigning are at the heart of our work.
Our frontline advice gives us a unique insight into the issues affecting our communities. We listen to people's experiences, identify emerging trends and gather evidence about the barriers preventing people from achieving financial security. Whether it is families trapped in rent arrears, young adults supporting multigenerational households, digital financial exclusion, or the impact of welfare policies, we use what we learn to highlight the issues that matter most.
We don't collect evidence for the sake of writing reports. We use it to influence policy, improve services, challenge unfair systems and develop practical solutions that make a real difference.
Working alongside local residents, community organisations, public services, academics and decision-makers, we ensure that the voices of people with lived experience are not only heard but help shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Every campaign we lead, every report we publish and every recommendation we make begins with a conversation in our advice service.
At Debt Talk, we don't make assumptions.
We listen. We research. We campaign. We create change.
Know More. Stress Less.
Debt Talk CIC Response to the Government Consultation on Council Tax Enforcement
Debt Talk CIC welcomes the Government's consultation on improving council tax collection and enforcement. We believe this consultation presents an important opportunity to create a system that encourages engagement rather than enforcement and supports households experiencing financial hardship before debt escalates.
Debt Talk CIC is a Financial Conduct Authority-regulated debt advice provider working predominantly with Bangladeshi and other ethnically diverse communities in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the London Borough of Hackney. Our evidence is based on direct frontline experience supporting residents in negotiating affordable repayment arrangements, maximising their income, applying for Council Tax Support and discretionary reductions, and resolving complex debt problems.
Every year, we assist hundreds of households facing council tax arrears alongside wider financial difficulties. Our evidence is based on direct frontline experience supporting residents to negotiate affordable repayment arrangements, maximise their income, apply for Council Tax Support and discretionary reductions, and resolve complex debt problems.
Our experience demonstrates that the majority of residents in council tax arrears are not refusing to pay.
Instead, they experience barriers that prevent them from engaging effectively with local authorities. These barriers include limited English proficiency, low financial literacy, digital exclusion, poor mental health, disability, cultural factors, and misunderstanding of the council tax recovery process.
Current enforcement practices frequently interpret non-response as deliberate non-payment when communication difficulties, financial hardship or vulnerability more accurately explain it. By the time many residents seek help, court action has already commenced and additional costs have significantly increased their debt.
Debt Talk CIC believes that reform should focus on:
- Restricting the use of enforcement agents where households are assessed as experiencing financial hardship, with bailiff action reserved only for cases where there is evidence that engagement has failed despite the ability to pay.
- Earlier engagement with residents before enforcement begins.
- Plain English communication supported by community languages.
- Recognition of financial vulnerability through structured affordability assessments.
- Flexible repayment arrangements based on affordability.
- Stronger partnership working with FCA-regulated debt advice organisations.
- Greater consistency between local authorities.
- Improved access to Council Tax Support and discretionary relief.
These reforms would improve outcomes for both councils and residents by increasing engagement, reducing enforcement costs and supporting sustainable repayment arrangements.
Debt Talk Response to the MaP Service Engagement
Debt Talk CIC has today submitted its response to the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) Early Market Engagement on the future of nationally accessible debt advice in England.
Our response is grounded in original community research carried out in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with British Bangladeshi residents, people with lived experience of debt, advice practitioners, health professionals and community organisations.
The research highlights barriers that many people face before they ever reach a debt adviser, including:
- Cultural stigma and shame surrounding debt.
- Shared family finances that do not fit traditional budgeting models.
- Faith-related barriers to mainstream financial solutions.
- Language and digital exclusion.
- A lack of trust in statutory and mainstream services.
We believe that creating a truly inclusive debt advice system requires more than increasing capacity. It requires listening to communities, understanding lived experience and designing services that people trust and can access with confidence.
In our submission, Debt Talk calls for:
- Culturally competent specialist pathways alongside mainstream provision.
- Stronger partnerships between national providers and trusted community organisations.
- Greater investment in community-led research and evidence.
- Earlier intervention to prevent financial crises.
- A debt advice system that measures trust, engagement and long-term outcomes—not just volumes.
Alongside our response, we have shared our consultation report, "Breaking Point to Breaking Through: Debt, Dignity and Demand for Bangladeshi Focused Financial Support," which captures the voices and experiences of the community.
We thank the Money and Pensions Service for inviting contributions to this important conversation. We look forward to continuing to work with partners across the sector to help build a debt advice system that is fairer, more accessible and responsive to the needs of all communities.
Breaking Point to Breaking Through
Debt Talk CIC publishes its first report
Breaking Point to Breaking Through reveals a hidden debt crisis affecting Bangladeshi Londoners, based on community consultations with over 45 residents, frontline workers and statutory organisations in Tower Hamlets.
Despite 63% of Bangladeshi Londoners living in poverty, there is no dedicated, culturally responsive debt advice service for this community. The report shows how shame and honour (izzat), faith-based barriers to interest, informal lending, remittance pressures and intergenerational trauma combine to push families into crisis before they seek help.
Participants were clear: mainstream debt services are not working. Generic advice, interest-based solutions, digital-only access and short-term funding models exclude Bangladeshi lived realities.
The report outlines community-designed solutions, including Bengali-speaking advisors, trauma-informed and faith-aware support, Shariah-compliant credit pathways, holistic debt and wellbeing support, and outreach in trusted community spaces.
Founded in 2025, Debt Talk CIC is the UK’s first Bangladeshi-led debt advice and financial education service, building on proven community-led approaches developed during the COVID-19 response.
This report makes one thing clear: Bangladeshi poverty is specific, structural and solvable — and the time to act is now.
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Please note that Debt Talk CIC is a private company limited by guarantee without share capital, a community interest company
Debt Talk CIC publishes its first report
Breaking Point to Breaking Through reveals a hidden debt crisis affecting Bangladeshi Londoners, based on community consultations with over 45 residents, frontline workers and statutory organisations in Tower Hamlets.
Despite 63% of Bangladeshi Londoners living in poverty, there is no dedicated, culturally responsive debt advice service for this community. The report shows how shame and honour (izzat), faith-based barriers to interest, informal lending, remittance pressures and intergenerational trauma combine to push families into crisis before they seek help.