Six steps to tackle household debt: findings from The Netherlands

Schemes to address rising levels of household debt in the Netherlands are proving successful. What can the UK learn from their interventions, asks Clare Cummings in NewStart: the magazine for making better places

Just as in the UK and other European countries, household debt in the Netherlands has become a significant concern in recent years. It is estimated that 5% of households are in a situation of serious problematic debt and a further 10% are at risk of entering such a situation.

While the economic crisis is partly to blame, the financial behaviour of individuals is also at fault. In the Netherlands, the debt problem is increasingly being considered as a question of behaviour and a wide range of organisations are working to tackle individuals’ ‘unhealthy’ management of personal finances.

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The original report from which this article is taken appears to have been only published in Dutch. I have however found some information about one of the authors, Nadja Jungmann, and the Centre for Social Innovation where she works.

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