THERE has been a huge increase in the number of people seeking help for debt problems, new statistics show.

A total of 763 people went to Stockton District Advice and Information service (SDAIS) seeking help with new debts in the last quarter of 2013, a 63 per cent increase from the beginning of the year.

There was a 200 per cent increase in the number of Stockton residents experiencing problems with pay day loans over a similar period.

Labour councillor David Rose also released statistics which showed 5,166 housing association tenants were in rent arrears, more than half of all Tristar Homes tenancies. Of those 759 were in arrears of over £500.

Coun Rose said he had collated data from a range of sources to assess the impact of welfare reforms in the borough, including the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ – a reduction in benefit payments for residents classed as having under occupied homes. The change has affected about 2,000 households in the borough.

Coun Rose criticised the Government’s welfare reforms and said: “Nearly 900 people have been on the social housing waiting list for more than 12 months for a one bedroom property.

"There are an average of 11 applications for each one bed flat available; 15 for each studio flat; and 18 applicants for each one bedroom house. People are struggling to pay their rents, are falling into debt and there is a big hike in tenancies that are failing."

Bob Cook, Labour leader of Stockton Council, said: “More than two-thirds of our residents say they are affected by the economic climate in the last 12 months, up 15 per cent.

“One direct example is the emergency and ‘settlement’ support provided to people via the Back on Track scheme. Demand for this in Stockton rose significantly in the third quarter. The government is ending this funding stream, which replaced the Social Fund, in 2015 and this will directly impact on people in crisis situations.”

James Wharton, Conservative MP for Stockton South, was unavailable to comment directly on Coun Rose’s criticism. However just this week he defended the Government’s benefit changes in The Northern Echo.

The MP said hundreds of thousands of people on benefits have homes bigger than they need, paid for by the tax-payer and said the system was clearly in need of major reform.