FIGURES made pubic by the Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau make it clear that personal debt is a growing problem in this Island.

According to CAB, there has been a 15 per cent increase in inquiries concerning debt so far this year. Last year bureau advisers dealt with debt problems involving £2.6 million, a total which is likely to be exceeded this year by a considerable margin.

It is, of course, hardly surprising that debt is such a prominent feature of the present economic landscape. By definition, the credit crunch, which was itself spurred by irresponsible lending on a massive scale, makes borrowing more difficult. As a result, people living beyond their means are finding sources of extra cash are drying up all around.

However, at this stage of the game it is more important to consider what can be done about debt, and the personal suffering that goes with it, rather than spending time working out precisely why we have reached the present situation.

Those in the midst of a funds crisis can do much to help themselves by reaching agreements with creditors, but they would also do well to avail themselves of the excellent services of CAB, whose staff and volunteers are sympathetic but realistic and have the expertise to help with cases of all levels of complexity.

The Island is fortunate that CAB exists, not least because it provides an invaluable service to people unable to afford advice from accountants or lawyers. That said, it is by no means clear that structures available here that allow individuals to extricate themselves from the debt trap are all that they might be.

Bankruptcy is a common, if still stigmatising, remedy in the UK, but equivalent legislation here is employed far less frequently and has a dimension that harks back to an era when debtors were judged morally as well as financially. In considering bankruptcy cases, the Royal Court can refuse to declare a person en désastre if it considers that ‘irresponsible debt’ – that is debt incurred for living the high life – was a major factor.

CAB’s strategy often hinges on the Individual Voluntary Agreement, a mechanism which allows debtors to schedule a percentage of due repayment over a period. Debtors and the agency would, however, benefit from addition to the remedies currently available – the Debt Relief Order. Targeted at the very poor with no assets, DROs would help those whom even CAB finds it difficult to help.