Private debt in the UK stands at £1.5 trillion, according to the latest figures from "The Money Charity" which educates people in managing their finances. The average adult now owes almost £30,000 or just over 113% of their annual earnings, while outgoings from mortgages, loans and credit cards constitute 82% of what the entire economy produces in a year.
Yet behind the numbers lurk individual stories of hardship along with concerns about the impact of debt on the economy's long-term ability to function. So is it time for governments to change their perception of debt and to stop seeing it as the sole responsibility of those who are struggling to pay their way?
Joining Share Radio's Juliette Foster and our economics correspondent Professor John Weeks is Dr. Johanna Montgomerie, Deputy Director at the Political Economy Research Centre at Goldsmiths University.
