The Statutory Debt Repayment Plan: legislated in 2018, still switched off

The Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 created a two-part Debt Respite Scheme. Part one, Breathing Space (a 60-day moratorium), has run since May 2021. Part two, the Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (letting people in problem debt repay over a manageable period with interest, charges and enforcement frozen) has never been commenced, and as of mid-2026 the government has set no implementation date, parking it behind a wider personal insolvency review. Voluntary debt management plans from StepChange/PayPlan partially cover the need but carry no legal protection from creditors; DROs, IVAs and bankruptcy serve people whose debts must be written off, not the millions who could repay if protected.

Four million people live in negative budgets. After 60 days of Breathing Space, protections evaporate and creditors can resume enforcement, undoing recoveries. The missing middle between a two-month moratorium and formal insolvency is exactly where most problem debt sits, and the legal instrument already exists on the statute book.

Commence the SDRP regulations (or legislate a successor within the personal insolvency review with a statutory deadline), with funding for the debt-advice gateway that administers plans and a creditor-compliance mechanism.

// State-led: Instrument: commencement of SDRP regulations under Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018, or successor statute.

The plan is already law with interest and enforcement frozen; four million negative-budget households wait for commencement while a live personal-insolvency review keeps it parked.