A survey by The Bank of England has revealed that more than 50% of all households now have some sort of unsecured debt.

In the UK, total household debt has now reached £1.6 trillion – when mortgages are added to unsecured debts such as overdrafts, credit cards, personal loans and other hire purchase agreements.

Respondents in the survey also said that they now had less spare cash either to spend or save, and that repaying debts was becoming harder – with a third of people saying they struggled “from time to time” making repayments.

An increased number of households were finding their debts to be more a burden when compared to similar surveys carried out since the mid-1990s.

Those most likely to have missed some payments on their debts were people renting their property, or whose mortgage payments were particularly high in relation to their home’s value.

Over half of respondents who took part in the survey had seen a decline in their available disposable income after paying taxes, utility bills and debt repayments.

As the number of people in debt has increased, there has also been an uplift in the demand for debt help and advice on possible solutions – such as individual voluntary agreements (IVA), debt management plans (DMP) and re-finance solutions. Both debt management and IVAs are for people who are struggling to keep up with their payments, and can make handling multiple debts easier to manage.

Almost 2,500 households were interviewed for the Bank’s survey in late September and early October 2008.