Sunday 2 August 2009

Stable public finance



Last day of silly week.


This is from the Department for Business Innovation and skills and it’s very, very silly.



Over-Indebtedness


The term over-indebtedness is used to describe debt which has become a major burden for the borrower. Over-indebtedness can be caused by, and contributes to, social exclusion, financial exclusion and poverty.


Er…


The Government is committed to social justice and prosperity for all. Over-indebtedness presents a barrier to delivery of objectives across Government,


Hmm..


…from tackling child poverty and social exclusion, to reducing barriers to work,


Hmph..


…and encouraging appropriate saving and investment


Tackling Over-indebtedness


There is much going on across Government to tackle over-indebtedness. This all supports the overall strategy of

(i) helping people to avoid becoming over-indebted


Ah…


(ii) providing support for those who do.


hah!...


This comprehensive complementary activity builds on the cross-departmental over-indebtedness Action Plan, that was issued in 2004.


Good timing, that. A couple of years early, even. Well done.


Activities are detailed individually on BIS's and other Government Departments' websites.


Debt Monitoring Papers


Monitoring papers on household debt which monitor aggregate levels of household debt, general macroeconomic and debt market conditions and the level of problem debt are now listed on the Monitoring Papers page.


How did that monitoring go for you, do you think?


Drivers of Over-indebtedness Report


In line with a request in the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) 2007 to conduct a review of current evidence on the drivers of problem debt, BERR commissioned Professor Richard Disney at the University of Nottingham to carry out this work, completed in December 2008.


Was Northern Rock mentioned at all, I wonder?…


This report utilises both qualitative evidence – from in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in the credit market – and quantitative evidence from two large-scale household panel data sets – Family and Children Survey; British Household Panel Survey – to address a range of issues, including: definitions of over-indebtedness,


We’ve got a really good definition of debt right now, if you’re interested. It’s got no end of lovely zeros…


…incidence and persistence of over-indebtedness across households and potential ‘triggers’ that move households into, or out of, potential debt problems.


Hmm. Aha. Ahah! Ah…ha ha ha ha,

ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha , ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha , ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha , ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha , ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha, ha , ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, Silly Week is over: time to get serious again. The reason they're researching indebtedness isn't too hard to work out. We're all indebted, and once we just accept the fact, the Guvment will come to the rescue with a lifelong enslavement package. [Damn cavalry's never around when you need it.] We will be buying our own rope, don't worry too much about that. What's more we will be asked to pay for the privilege of tying ourselves up with it.

{I infer that your work involves servicing members of the public - that must be very rewarding ...}

North Northwester said...

Hi Edgar, welcome and thanks for your comment

"lifelong enslavement package" - that would be some contribution of Incapacity Benefit, ESA, Child Tax Credit,Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance.


"your work involves servicing members of the public - that must be very rewarding ...".

Well the pension and flexitime and immunity to market forces are very rewarding to ME. I can't see my corner of the Welfare State shrinking any time soon unfortunately.

Still, I hope by the power of my blogging to make many of my colleagues redundant one day.

Not me, obviously: that would be a national disaster...

 

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