Free debt advice expanded to 16,000 more small UK businesses – how to get help
Key Points
- The Money and Pensions Service is adding £4 million over three years to fund free debt advice for 16,000 more small businesses and sole traders.
- The money expands Business Debtline, run by the Money Advice Trust, taking its reach to 75,000 businesses over the period.
- Business Debtline has helped around 50,000 people since 2024, with over 90% seeing debts reduce or stabilise.
- A further £2 million this year will go towards modernising debt advice, including AI tools that cut appointment waiting times.
- Small business owners and self-employed people can get free help from Business Debtline by phone, webchat or online.
The Money and Pensions Service will fund free debt advice for an additional 16,000 small businesses and sole traders over the next three years, through a £4 million boost to the Business Debtline service.
The expansion takes the service’s total reach to 75,000 businesses over the period. It builds on the £3 million a year the Money and Pensions Service has put towards Business Debtline since 2024, support designed for the point where personal and business finances cross over.
Business Debtline, run by the national charity Money Advice Trust, has supported around 50,000 people since that 2024 funding began, with more than 90% of clients seeing their debts reduce or stabilise.
Demand for the service has continued to grow, and the government says the new money will go towards meeting it.
Business Debtline is the only free debt advice service for small business owners and self-employed people in problem debt, offering practical guidance on dealing with creditors and, where needed, on closing a business.
How to get help
Small business owners and self-employed people who are struggling with money can contact Business Debtline by phone, webchat or through its website, free of charge.
The service helps people look at their business finances and decide what to do next, including how to recover money owed to them.
In 2024, Business Debtline helped 37,800 small business owners and self-employed people over the phone, a further 15,400 people via webchat, and recorded more than 667,000 visits to its website.
The £4 million is split across expanding access to advice and meeting rising demand. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Blake said small businesses are the backbone of the economy and sometimes need a helping hand when times get tough, and that the government is building on its existing debt services to reach tens of thousands more people.
Money and Pensions Service CEO Oliver Morley said the funding will help more small business owners and sole traders get trusted advice so they can regain control of their finances.
Money Advice Trust CEO Steve Vaid said the funding strengthens the partnership between his charity and the Money and Pensions Service, and will help Business Debtline support a group that often struggles to find tailored help.
Vicks Rodwell, Managing Director at IPSE, The Self-Employed Association, said finding the right financial support can be especially hard for people who work for themselves, and that the funding will help thousands more get expert advice.
A further £2 million this year
Separately, the government is putting a further £2 million this year towards modernising debt advice, on top of the £4.8 million already invested under its Financial Inclusion Strategy, which launched in November.
The strategy aims to remove barriers to financial participation and build household financial resilience. The modernisation money is intended to free up advisers to spend more time with clients, particularly complex cases.
Previous recipients have used the funding for projects ranging from artificial intelligence pilots to digital referral systems and upgraded equipment.
Money Advice Plus, a community-based debt advice charity, invested £49,000 in technology including AI-supported transcription, which it says cut the time to a first appointment by 46% and let advisers spend more time supporting people in financial difficulty.
The new funding supports the government’s Plan for Small Business, which it describes as the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation.
