Money and Mental Health Policy Institute charity

“We thought it would come in the King’s Speech and… nothing has happened.”

Great to see our Chair and Founder Martin Lewis discussing the need for statutory regulation of the bailiff industry.

Aggressive behaviour by bailiffs destroys lives, and the lack of an independent regulator allows them to act with impunity.

Councils in England instructed bailiffs for council tax collection in 1.7 million cases in 2024/25.

Our own research found that 73% of people who had a bailiff visit and a council tax debt also had a mental health problem.

You can watch Martin discuss this on Good Morning Britain here:

Martin Lewis calls out ‘hideous’ tactics used by bailiffs Money saving expert, Matin Lewis, is calling on the government to s...

This week we marked ten years of Money and Mental Health! 🎉

We were founded by Martin Lewis back in 2016 and we’ve had some great campaigning successes in the past ten years, including:

- securing the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space, which means people experiencing a crisis don’t have to deal with bills and debt letters while they are getting care and for 30 days afterwards
- making debt letters more supportive and less threatening
- and, most recently, securing long overdue changes to council tax collection.

But there is so much more to do to break the link between money and mental health problems.

So this week we gathered government ministers, regulators, essential services and health commissioners at our 10th anniversary event in UK Parliament. We looked back on the impact we’ve had over the past decade, but also focused on the changes we want to see to help people struggling with their money and mental health.

Our Chair and Founder Martin Lewis set out a list of our key asks for the speakers and attendees who joined us on how they can play a role in breaking the link.

That included introducing an independent regulator of the bailiff industry, making the insurance market fairer for people with mental health problems and making sure money and mental health support is joined up in Neighbourhood Health Services.

There was huge positivity and enthusiasm in the room about the need to act on the link between money and mental health problems.

We look forward to working with government, regulators, commissioners and businesses to tackle these problems in the years to come.

For the five million carers across the UK, supporting someone with their finances can often be really difficult.

As one carer in our Research Community told us: “I was constantly challenged by financial departments because they wouldn’t record my authority on my person’s accounts… to have to jump through the hoops of sending digital evidence every time I needed to contact them simply delays getting the problem solved.”

Formal routes to supporting someone you care for with their finances are often too expensive, too complicated, or simply not accessible.

Just 26% of our Research Community members who help with someone’s finances hold any kind of formal authority, such as power of attorney.

Whether it’s benefits, banking, or paying bills, the systems currently in place don’t tend to facilitate the support that many people with mental health problems need.

To mark , we explore what carers in our Research Community think about the options currently available and what needs to change: https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/creating-systems-that-work-for-the-5-million-carers-across-the-uk/

Wishing our Founder and Chair Martin Lewis a very Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

A huge thank you Martin for your ongoing support and commitment to helping people affected by financial difficulty and mental health problems.

Our Research Community is at the heart of everything we do.

We recently brought together members of our Research Community, community organisations and support service representatives for an in-person workshop exploring how local money and mental health support could work better.

It was a great opportunity to hear more about people’s experiences – and their reflections on how to improve services in their communities.

We’re grateful to everyone who attended. You can read a recap of the event here: https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/our-first-event-shaped-by-and-for-the-research-community/