Consumer debt `continues to rise`

Consumer debt in the UK continues to increase, it has been suggested.

According to David Kuo of financial website The Motley Fool, such debt is at the heart of faltering consumer confidence and it is still on the rise.

He said: "The measures that the government has taken thus far have done little to restore confidence. At the heart of the problem is consumer debt, which has been built up during the boom period and continues to rise."

Mr Kuo went on to say that consumer debt now stands at more than £1.4 trillion. This must be "whittled down" if people are to have certainty in their own futures, he added.

Among the measures suggested by the expert to achieve this was the reduction of personal taxes, which he said would put money back in consumers` pockets.

According to Mr Kuo, if the government does not act soon, there is a risk that the "ship of confidence may sink without trace".

Recently, Nick O`Reilly, president of insolvency trade body R3, said that the UK is reaping what it has sown in terms of the high levels of personal debt possessed by many consumers.