Decoding Debt: Unpacking The Landscape Of Monetary Judgments

Introduction

Registry Trust Ltd (RTL) is the non-profit behind the official statutory Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines for England & Wales, and similar registers across the UK and Ireland. This blog provides an in-depth analysis of monetary judgments in the UK, primarily focusing on County Court Judgments (CCJs) registered against consumers and commercial entities up to January 1st, 2025. It examines the volume and distribution of these judgments across different regions and local authorities in England and Wales, highlighting areas with the highest and fastest-growing rates. The analysis also considers the correlation between CCJ density and income deprivation, alongside the low rate of judgment satisfactions, particularly in London, and advocates for changes to improve this. Ultimately, the report positions CCJ data as a crucial indicator of financial health and vulnerability, encouraging its use by policymakers and stakeholders. The insights provided by CCJ data could be particularly helpful in the development of the national financial inclusion strategy.

As of the beginning of 2025, 5.5 million consumer and commercial judgments were outstanding across the registers. While this figure includes instances where individuals and businesses have multiple judgments, the estimated number of unique individuals and small businesses affected remains substantial at 4.6 million. The sheer volume, with 17.1 million judgments registered since 2001, underscores the persistent challenges many face in meeting financial obligations. Notably, nearly nine in ten (89%) of all judgments are against consumers. The vast majority of all consumer judgments (4.8 million or 98%) are registered in England and Wales.

Why CCJ data is important

CCJs are used in hundreds of millions of lending and other business decisions each year. Unless it is cancelled, a CCJ stays on the Register for six years. CCJ data can be a useful indicator of the state of household finances and the economy. The fact that a CCJ has been enforced suggests that a person or company is facing financial difficulty or experiencing some sort of financial problem.

The existence of large numbers of CCJs at national, regional or local area level can help identify whether there may be a more systemic economic or financial factors at play, that policy and regulatory interventions are not having the intended effect or indicate the nature of enforcement behaviours on the part of firms or sectors of the economy.

Long-term trends in consumer judgments in England and Wales

In 2024, the number of consumer CCJs registered in England and Wales was 42% higher than in 2001. This growth has outpaced the population growth of England and Wales, which was 17% from 2001 to 2023. This increase in CCJ numbers has not been consistent, with periods of relatively steep rises and falls, notably considerable falls in annual judgment numbers during the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic-related economic crisis.

This seemingly counterintuitive trend can be explained by several factors:

• There can be a lag between the onset of a crisis, consumers facing financial difficulties, and creditors deciding to enforce outstanding debts.
• There have been changes in forbearance practices in key regulated sectors such as consumer credit and utilities, with regulated firms adopting more consumer-friendly policies.
• Regulators have been more robust in ensuring that regulated firms treat vulnerable consumers fairly and sympathetically during large-scale economic crises.

However, following these crises, judgment numbers tend to bounce back, often with a vengeance.

Consumer judgments in England and Wales, rebased to 2001

Where You Live Could Affect Your Chances of Having a CCJ

About one in every 14 people currently has a judgment against them.

The numbers tell us more than just the scale of the problem. They also reveal where CCJs are most highly concentrated.

Unsurprisingly, London has the highest total number of consumer judgments, but this is only part of the story. When adjusted for population, regional differences emerge. In the North East, there's one CCJ for every ten people. In London and the North West, it’s one in 11. By contrast, Northern Ireland sees just one in 88 people affected, and in Scotland, it's one in 64.

These figures point to clear differences in experience across the country. Your likelihood of having a CCJ can depend heavily on where you live. That matters not just for individual financial wellbeing, but also for shaping fair national policy.

The insights provided by Registry Trust’s data allow policy and regulatory interventions to be targeted more effectively to support the most disadvantaged communities. The mission of the Financial Inclusion Committee advising government on the national financial inclusion strategy is to tackle barriers to households’ ability to access affordable and appropriate financial products and services. Understanding national, regional, and local patterns and trends is vital to building a fairer credit and debt system.

Consumer judgments regional breakdown

The North East tops the CCJ ’league tables’ – but that’s not the whole story

Looking beyond raw numbers, the data reveals a deeper regional story about consumer CCJs. By comparing each region’s share of judgments to its share of the population, we can see which areas are carrying more of the burden.

The North East stands out sharply: it has 44% more judgments than you’d expect based on population size alone. London follows with a 25% excess, and the North West also trends significantly higher than average. In short, the North East is facing a disproportionate share of consumer debt judgments — a pattern reinforced by local authority rankings that show the region dominating the CCJ ‘league tables’.

And the picture isn’t static.

Even in regions with fewer CCJs overall, such as the South East, there are fast-moving shifts. Some local authorities in the South East have seen explosive growth in CCJs. In fact, the region saw the highest increase in consumer judgments across the UK over the past decade — up 54% between 2014 and 2024.

The takeaway? It’s not just where the burden is now — it’s where it’s heading. The data highlights areas already struggling but also signals which parts of the country could be next.

Percentage change in consumer judgments over 10 years to 2024

Source: CCJ data Registry Trust database accessed 1st January 2025

Commercial Judgments: regional hotspots and business impact

As of January 2025, there were around 587,000 commercial CCJs on the UK register—roughly one for every ten businesses. But again, this burden isn’t spread evenly.

London stands out. It holds 13% of the UK population, 19% of the country’s businesses—and 28% of all commercial judgments. That’s one CCJ for every seven London-based businesses, suggesting a significantly higher rate of disputes or financial distress.

The South East, by contrast, has more businesses than its population share too—but with fewer commercial judgments proportionally, averaging one CCJ for every 13 businesses.

Other regions with higher-than-expected levels of commercial judgments include the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber—raising questions about financial pressures or structural risks in these business ecosystems too.

Commercial judgments regional breakdown

Source: Judgment data as a 1st January 2025. Business data Table 26a Business population estimates 2023 - GOV.UK averaged over six years

What’s driving London’s high rate of commercial judgments?

London’s commercial CCJ rate is noticeably high—one for every seven businesses, compared to a national average of one in ten. There could be several reasons for this. London attracts a high volume of start-ups and business activity, often involving more financial risk. That dynamism can create both more opportunities and more exposure to credit issues.

To really understand what’s going on, we’d need to dig deeper. Previous RTL analysis found that rising commercial judgment numbers often signal financial distress—and are linked to a higher risk of insolvency.

It’s an area ripe for further research, especially when looking at how business birth and failure rates vary regionally. Understanding those trends could provide valuable insight into how financial vulnerability plays out across different business ecosystems.

Regional inequality in judgment levels

New data confirms what many have long suspected; regions like the North East, North West, and London are particularly affected by high levels of consumer judgments. When we ranked local authorities by judgment rates adjusted for population, the North East stood out: over half of its local authorities are in the top 50 most affected. None made it into the bottom 50.

London and the North West also fared poorly, with around a quarter of local authorities in each region showing high CCJ density and very few with low levels. In contrast, the South East had relatively fewer high-density areas.

Trends tell another story.

Over the past decade, London, the South East, and Wales saw the steepest rises in consumer judgment numbers—even if their per-capita rates were initially lower. Nine of the 20 local authorities with the sharpest ten-year increases were in the South East alone.

In short, the North East and North West have long struggled with persistently high CCJ levels, but the most rapid growth is now happening elsewhere—suggesting new hotspots of financial pressure are emerging.

Regions with the highest concentration of local authorities with high levels of CCJs

CCJs and other factors

The granular nature of RTL data means it is useful for combining with other socio-economic data sets. For example, the chart below, shows the relationship between the density of CCJs and the extent of income deprivation at local authority level. There is obviously a strong relationship between income deprivation and the density of CCJs, but it is worth noting that there can be a significant difference between the CCJ rate per 1,000 population in local authorities with similar income deprivation ratios. There must be some explanation for this. We are currently exploring the relationship between CCJ density and other socioeconomic factors.

Relationship between income deprivation and CCJ density at local authority level

Source: the chart maps the number of CCJs per 1,000 adults with the income deprivation rate obtained from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019

Recent analysis of RTL data drew on both academic literature and current industry/government approaches to compile a list of characteristics commonly associated with increased risks of indebtedness. From this, the researcher then shortlisted a set of ‘debt drivers’ that can be used to accurately predict over 80% of the case distributions. Here’s a link to a description of that work.

As mentioned, CCJ data is a useful indicator of the state of household finances and the economy. The fact that a CCJ has been enforced suggests that a person is facing financial difficulty or experiencing some sort of financial problem. The existence of large numbers of CCJs at national, regional or local area level can help identify whether there may be more systemic economic or financial factors at play, that policy and regulatory interventions are not having the intended effect or indicate particular enforcement behaviours on the part of firms or sectors of the economy.

RTL data is updated every day, so it is a very timely indicator. The data is also granular, which allows analysts to identify which local areas are experiencing financial challenges. CCJ rates are a lagging and leading indicator of financial difficulty and financial inclusion/ exclusion. They can help identify where economic and financial circumstances have led to individuals and small businesses getting into a position where they have debts enforced against them. This in turn can help policymakers and others examine more closely whether policy and regulatory interventions have been effective enough at preventing financial harm. The data can also highlight areas where large numbers of individuals and small businesses are likely to face difficulties obtaining affordable credit.

We can produce regular analysis to quickly identify trends or where problems are emerging, which can be helpful to policymakers, regulators, academics, and civil society. We are keen to collaborate with stakeholders to generate meaningful insights into economic and financial vulnerability, over-indebtedness and financial inclusion and to help target policy interventions. Get in touch if you think our data could help you.