Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the change in consumer credit borrowing for essential household purchases in each of the past twelve months.

HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of its normal processes of policy development. We are not aware of regularly available data that links consumer credit use to categories of spending. However, our regular engagements with stakeholders, such as retail banks and trade bodies, allow us to keep track of emerging trends.

Retrospective analysis of trends in consumer credit product usage is produced by other organisations, including the Bank of England’s monthly statistical releases on money and credit and the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Surveys. Recent Bank of England data shows that net consumer credit lending has shown some increase in recent months but remains close to the levels seen in 2019.