Working people in Ashfield are becoming increasingly desperate facing a spiral of debt

Figures in the annual ‘dashboard ‘report from Ashfield Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) reveal debt takes up 37 per cent of all issues taken to the agency.

The CAB local authority dashboard 2014 released this week, shows more than 3,700 people took 10,715 problems to the organisation over the past year with issues ranging from benefits, debt, employment and housing.

Service Manager at the CAB office on Market Street, Sutton Janice Abraham said: “Debt issues include people with unsecured personal loans and high rates of interest were major problems.

She said: “Debts from payday loans have increased significantly over the last two or three years.

“We are seeing more and more people in work coming to us with problems as price increases outstrip wages and benefits become harder to claim. People are becoming more desperate.

Problems with employment issues were also increasing at six per cent of the total.

She added: “Employment concerns around zero hour contracts, employment agencies and people being finished just before their one year qualifying period are the major ones.

“The top benefit issue is Employment Support Allowance (ESA) cut off or claimants being unable to access it. People are getting their benefits back on appeal. There have been huge errors made and it is a huge problem nationally.”