Money and Mental Health Policy Institute charity

16/09/2026

Mental health isn’t always neat or predictable.

Support should not depend on someone being able to manage in the same way.

For people with fluctuating mental health problems, responsibilities that feel manageable during one period can become confusing or overwhelming during another.

Changes in concentration, memory, energy or decision making can make it harder to understand bills, keep track of spending, respond to correspondence or complete essential tasks.

When this affects someone’s finances, the consequences can last much longer than the period of poor mental health itself. Missed payments may become arrears, unanswered letters may lead to further action, and changes in spending can leave someone facing financial difficulties once their mental health improves.

Yet many of the systems people rely on are built around the assumption that they can engage consistently. Someone might begin a benefits claim, debt advice process or workplace adjustment while they are well, then become less able to keep up with appointments or deadlines as their mental health changes. The process continues in the same way, even when their capacity does not.

Support for fluctuating conditions needs to be adjustable. That could mean allowing more time, temporarily reducing someone’s hours or enabling a trusted person to provide clearly defined help with managing money.

Crucially, flexibility should not mean permanently giving up independence. People should be able to decide what support they may want during a future period of poor mental health, who can provide it, and where the limits should be.

From financial services to employment, support should be designed with change in mind – making it straightforward for help to increase and reduce as someone’s needs change, while protecting their choice and control.

14/09/2026

We were pleased to hear the new Minister for Mental Health Alison McGovern highlight in Parliament our work with financial services to improve support for people at risk of su***de.

Our Su***de Prevention Action Lab is bringing together five financial services firms to develop and test new ways to support their customers.

It will draw on insights from people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and feelings, and from our research on the link between mental health and financial difficulty.

You can read more about our work on su***de prevention here: https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/su***de-prevention/

11/09/2026

We don’t believe people should have to explain they’re going through a mental health crisis again and again to get the right support.

Back in June, our Founder and Chair Martin Lewis spoke to a Parliamentary committee about the need for a ‘share once’ system in essential services.

And just today, the Public Accounts Committee has published a report calling on the government to create a multi-sector ‘tell us once’ system within the next two years.

We welcome this announcement. For someone with a mental health problem, telling their water company, energy provider, broadband provider or mobile provider the same personal information again and again can feel distressing and overwhelming.

We believe a voluntary and secure ‘share once’ system would be a step in the right direction – allowing someone to share their support needs once so essential service providers can offer the right support.

10/09/2026

Today is World Su***de Prevention Day.

We know just how closely financial difficulty is linked to su***de. People in problem debt are three times more likely to have considered su***de than people who are not in problem debt.

We want to help break that link between financial difficulty and su***de, and we know banks – with their unique level of insight into people’s finances – are well-placed to offer support.

Today we’re launching the Su***de Prevention Action Lab, with five major banks – Barclays UK, HSBC UK, Lloyds Bank, Monzo and Nationwide UK – on board. Together we will test and evaluate new ways of helping people who might be at risk of su***de.

This initiative also has the backing of Samaritans and the Financial Conduct Authority, who will be represented on the steering group.

Our chair and founder Martin Lewis welcomes this collaboration. You can read the full quote from Martin on our website: https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/press-release/martin-lewis-charity-brings-together-five-major-banks-to-help-tackle-su***de

02/09/2026

If you’ve ever had a knock at the door from a bailiff, or a letter threatening a bailiff visit, we have some good news to share.

Changes announced by the government last week will give the Enforcement Conduct Board, the body that regulates the bailiff industry, new powers to ensure bailiffs comply with the rules.

We’ve been campaigning for this change for years – and it’s a very welcome step towards reducing the harms that people face from aggressive debt collection.

New data from Money Advice Trust underlines the importance of this change.

It shows that 1.7 million council tax debts were referred to bailiffs in England and Wales in 2025/26 – with over 150 councils increasing their use of bailiffs compared to the previous year.

No-one should be made to feel unsafe in their home or in their community – but, unfortunately, the psychological impact of a visit from a bailiff can be devastating.

In the words of one member of our Research Community, receiving a visit from a bailiff was “incredibly intrusive” and “[has] shrunk my world.”

People experiencing financial difficulty should be offered support and affordable ways to repay before enforcement action is considered.

28/08/2026

Great news – the government has just announced new plans to crack down on bad bailiff behaviour🎉

Currently bailiffs can break rules and cause huge distress for people in debt, because the industry’s regulator – the Enforcement Conduct Board – doesn’t have the powers it needs to clamp down on bad bailiff practice.

But new changes will give the ECB the power it needs to ensure bailiffs to comply with the rules!

The vast majority of StepChange Debt Charity
clients who experienced bailiff action said it negatively impacted both their mental (95%) and physical (91%) health and wellbeing, as well as their ability to get enough sleep (94%) and how safe they felt in their own home (91%). That underlines why these changes are so badly needed.

But this announcement is only the beginning. Now we are asking the government to move quickly in making these changes reality and to put an end to aggressive bailiff behaviour for good.

25/08/2026

“Recovering from mental illness often takes more than medication and psychotherapy (although that’s important too), but also having something meaningful to do in the day; somewhere to live; someone to love, and crucially, some money in our pockets to pay the bills and participate in society.”

Our latest blog looks at neighbourhood mental health centres - set to be introduced across England in the coming years - and how they could help to break the toxic cycle between money and mental health problems.

We want to see financial advice and support offered under the same roof as mental health care - that's the route to tackling the cycle of mental health problems and financial difficulty.

Read more in the blog here:

New Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres will transform mental health support. We look at the plan, funding and the role of money advice.

10/08/2026

The government has announced new rules cracking down on misleading discounts and subscription traps.

As our Chief Executive Helen Undy OBE notes, this is good news for people with mental health problems – but much more needs to be done, and these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unfair practices that make life difficult for consumers.

06/08/2026

A countdown clock telling you a sale is about to end. A warning that there are “only two left”. A message that five other people also have the same item in their basket.

These pressure selling tactics can create a sense of urgency, encouraging us to act now rather than giving us time to stop and think.

For people with mental health problems, that pressure can be particularly difficult to navigate. Online shopping can be a lifeline, especially at times when getting to the shops feels overwhelming or simply isn’t possible. But some of the features built into online shopping platforms can make it harder to stay in control of spending.

Symptoms like increased impulsivity or anxiety can make it more difficult to step away from a prompt saying you have to act now, or you might miss out. Problems with concentration or memory can also make it harder to weigh up a purchase or keep track of spending.

Our research found that 54% of people who had recently experienced a mental health problem felt that online shopping sites make it too easy to spend more than you can afford.

And the effects can last beyond the moment of purchase. Spending more than intended can add to financial worries, while a complicated returns or cancellation process can make it harder to put things right.

To help people stay in control, here’s we’d like to see:

- Strong enforcement against misleading scarcity and urgency claims
- More ways for customers to switch off sales nudges and set spending controls
- Optional cooling-off periods, alongside simple returns and cancellations

Online shopping should make life easier – not push people into spending money they may not have, or during times when they’re not well.

31/07/2026

💬 “Being part of the community… means I can turn when I was in poor mental health to make sure other people don’t face similar issues.”

Sharing your experience and insight helps us to change policy.

Joining our Research Community — contributing through surveys, focus groups and more — helps us make the case to politicians, regulators and service providers that change is necessary.

Together, we can break the link between financial difficulty and mental health problems 💜

You can watch the full film this snippet is from on our YouTube channel — or find out more about the Research Community on our website: www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/community