In recent weeks, Ministers have set out new measures to help people struggling with the cost of living – including free bus travel for children and targeted reductions in food tariffs. But the Financial Services and Markets Bill that has recently been laid before Parliament points in a very different, and concerning, direction. Clause 8 of the Bill would upend vital protections for borrowers, and we call for it to be scrapped.

Following his recent appointment to the Credit Information Governance Body (CIGB) Consumer Council, CfRC's Chief Executive, Damon Gibbons, reflects on why increasingly data‑driven credit decisions remain opaque — and why stronger accountability is now essential if affordability is to protect consumers in practice.

Efforts to tackle the harms caused by financial abuse have exposed a bigger truth: credit reporting must evolve. Context, fairness and accountability can’t be optional.

Our new report finds a third of low-to-middle income borrowers are cutting back their essential spending to preserve their credit scores, and highlights how the marketing of scores can increase the risks of over-indebtedness and deter people from seeking advice.