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If you’re struggling with debt and facing a mental health crisis, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Find out more about the mental health breathing space scheme and how it could help provide some respite
When your mental health is suffering, it’s understandable that your financial situation might be the last thing on your mind. However, mental health and money advice are often linked, with unpaid debts, increasing interest, and threats of further action adding to your stress. If you need time to focus on your treatment without having to deal with your creditors daily, a mental health crisis breathing space might be the best option for you.
Mental Health Breathing Space is a free debt respite scheme operating in England and Wales since May 2021, and it’s designed to help people who are struggling with their debts at the same time as experiencing a mental health crisis. While it’s not a payment holiday, breathing space can help you cope with your debts and have time to pursue treatment by preventing creditors from contacting you, increasing your interest, fees, and charges, or pursuing legal action to recover the funds. This means you’ll still need to make repayments, but you won’t have to worry about fielding constant phone calls, being summoned to attend court, or waiting for bailiffs to turn up at your door.
You’ll only be eligible to apply for a mental health crisis breathing space if you’re currently receiving mental health crisis treatment and live in England or Wales. People are considered to be in crisis treatment if they’ve been detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act (more commonly known as being sectioned), have been taken to a place of safety by a police officer acting under the Mental Health Act, or are receiving crisis care from a specialist mental health team either in the community or in hospital.
But that’s not the only condition you need to fulfil to be eligible for breathing space. You must have one or more qualifying debts and be struggling to keep up with your repayments. Not every type of debt qualifies, but those that do include credit cards, store cards, personal loans, payday loans, overdrafts, utility bill arrears, rent arrears, council tax debt, tax debt, welfare benefit overpayments, and penalty charge notices. Secured debts, Magistrates Court fines, and student loans aren’t eligible for breathing space, but joint debts and guarantor loans are (your creditors can still act against the guarantor though).
To qualify for a mental health crisis breathing space, your application must be certified by an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) and co-ordinated by a debt adviser. You don’t have to apply yourself; your carer, appointed care co-ordinators, mental health nurses, social workers, independent mental health advocates, or another representative can deal with the debt adviser on your behalf so you can focus all your energy on your treatment.
AMHPs are mental health professionals with specific training in mental health and mental capacity law, approved by the local authority under section 114(1) of the Mental Health Act 1983. Typically, they’ll work as a social worker or psychiatric nurse based in the community or as a part of a crisis team, but some psychologists and occupational therapists are AMHPs. They’re the only professional group who can provide the evidence needed to confirm that you’re in crisis treatment. Your GP or other doctors can’t be AMHPs, but they can refer you to one.
If you would rather self-refer, you should speak to a healthcare professional, local community mental health team, or the AMHP team at your local adult social services department and they’ll be able to guide you through the next steps.
There are several differences, as well as similarities, between a standard breathing space and one designed for those in a mental health crisis. Both types of debt respite scheme prevent your creditors from contacting you, adding any further interest, charges, or fees, or pursuing further action against you for a set period. They also only apply to certain types of debt and must be organised through a debt adviser.
However, the main purpose of a standard breathing space is to give you the time to pursue debt advice. This isn’t required during a mental health crisis breathing space – mental health and money advice don’t have to be tackled at the same time. There’s also no midway review, although your debt adviser will check in regularly to see if you’re still receiving treatment.
A standard breathing space lasts 60 days and you can only apply once in any 12-month period, but a mental health crisis breathing space won’t end until 30 days after you’ve completed your treatment and there’s no limit to the number of times you can enter one. If you’re no longer in crisis but still need time to seek advice for your debts, you can still apply for a standard breathing space.
Your mental health breathing space will end 30 days after your crisis treatment has ended. Be mindful that your ongoing treatment must be confirmed every 20 to 30 days. Your debt adviser will get in touch with your nominated point of contact to do this, but if they don’t respond, your breathing space will end 30 days later.
There are some circumstances where a debt adviser must cancel a mental health crisis breathing space. Typically, this will only be if they believe that the information provided about your treatment is inaccurate, misleading, or fraudulent, and they don’t think your personal circumstances will make cancelling unfair. You can also ask for your breathing space to be cancelled at any time and the debt adviser must comply with your wishes.
Looking to find out more about breathing space and other forms of debt management? Our friendly team of debt advisors would be happy to help. Call us on 0161 660 0411 or send us a message.
