There are many different ways in which people with debt management problems can deal with their issues.

Beccy Wilks, spokesperson for the Money Advice Trust, said it depends on the amount and type of debt a person has.

"It could be that someone is worried about not being able to pay a utility bill so may consider borrowing money to pay off the debt," she suggested.

However, in some cases it might not be necessary to take out a loan, Ms Wilks continued, as debt management experts are able to ascertain the best plan of action for individual needs.

Credit Action revealed earlier this month that total UK personal debt at the end of March stood at £1,459 billion, which has slowed further to 2.2 per cent in the past 12 months, equating to an increase of £28 billion.

Average household debt in the UK was said to be £9,280 (excluding mortgages), increasing to £21,580 if the average was based on the number of households who actually have some form of unsecured loan.

It is no surprise that mortgage lending figures are at such a low rate, it has been said.

Peter O’Donovan, head of mortgages at Bestinvest, suggested it indicates that the property market is reaching the bottom.

"If people are starting to buy, there will be more interest and more people will be looking after the same property and therefore that price may start to increase," he stated.

The property market is not likely to return to the same levels as last year, Mr O’Donovan suggested, although there are perhaps some signs that confidence is beginning to return.

According to statistics from the Ministry for Justice, during the first quarter of this year 22,609 mortgage possession claims were issued on a seasonally-adjusted basis, 42 per cent lower than in the first quarter of 2008.

Furthermore, 17,054 mortgage possession orders were made on a seasonally-adjusted basis, 39 per cent lower than in the first three months of last year.

The statistics also reveal that 47 per cent of mortgage possession orders were suspended, broadly the same as in the first quarter of 2008.

Consumers are erring on the side of caution when it comes to debt management, it has been said.

All parties involved with loan transactions are becoming more careful, revealed Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Society Association (BSA), with consumers perhaps choosing to buy what they can afford.

"On the lending side clearly some loans were made by some institutions to people who can’t now repay them and those loans shouldn’t have been made," he continued.

Other considerations are said to include whether a person decides to remortgage or not and whether they can buy something on the spot with their savings or choose not to buy at all.

People may also opt to buy a cheaper version of the product they want, rather than face the debts associated with buying something they cannot afford, Mr Coles added.

According to the latest Trends in Lending report released by the Bank of England, net mortgage lending slowed to £1.6 billion in April, down from £2 billion in March.

The annual rate of lending growth fell further in March, with major UK lenders reporting that their net lending flows remained weak in April.

Weak net mortgage lending figures are a reflection of problems experienced in previous months, it has been said.

Statistics director at the British Bankers Association (BBA) David Dooks revealed that they also depict the wider financial difficulties experienced by many people.

"Households’ uncertain financial circumstances not surprisingly continue to dictate consumer behaviour, both in the housing market and in generating only low demand for new personal loans," Mr Dooks continued.

The BBA figures also show that personal deposits have increased for the third month in a row, although the savings trend in bank accounts is still yet to recover.

Lending to financial firms has also seen a decrease, the statistics reveal.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported earlier this month that mortgage lending fell to an estimated £10.4 billion in April – down by nine per cent compared to March 2009.

Mortgage lending in March and April 2009 was down by 57 per cent compared to the same months in 2008, the CML suggested, with estimates for gross mortgage lending this year expected to total £145 billion.

The housing market needs to be stimulated by mortgage lenders freeing up more money for their customers.

Steve Turner, head of communications at the Home Builders Federation, revealed that measures are already in place to help the situation, but that more needs to be done to push them through.

"The crux of the issue in terms of the housing market is getting banks lending again at sensible rates to people who want to buy homes," Mr Turner added.

He also made calls for more money to become available to home builders who are experiencing a lack of demand at the moment, leaving many development sites "mothballed" throughout the country.

PropertyLive.co.uk reported earlier this month that 65 per cent of non-homeowners believe they will never own a property.

In addition to this, the website discovered that five per cent believe they will have to wait more than five years to secure a mortgage.

The study also showed that ten per cent feel they will have secured a mortgage in one to two years’ time, while 14 per cent suggest it will take between two and five years.

Many construction workers are finding it difficult to gain employment during the economic downturn, figures show.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) finds that all sectors have experienced a decline in their workloads, which has led to a slight drop in employment expectations.

"Public sector projects will play a key role in any recovery as long as the finance is made available to prevent them from stalling," commented Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

Workers in the south-west are experiencing the slowest decline, while the north, the Midlands, East Anglia and Wales are also faring better than other areas of the UK.

In Scotland however, workloads are said to be declining at a faster rate across all construction industries except for the public housing and private industrial sectors.

Greg Pitcher, deputy news editor at Construction News, recently called upon workers in the field to look for public sector work in future, as more is likely to become available as the London Olympics approaches.

He also said the widening of the M25 and Crossrail links may provide further opportunities for workers in the public sector.

Older generations should choose to work in later life, not be forced to do so through financial necessity.

A spokesperson for Help the Aged said it is not necessarily a bad thing that people are working longer, but this has to be a result of personal choice.

People over the age of 65 are often physically and mentally able to continue working, the spokesperson added, which is often a far cry from how society perceives them.

"When you think older workers you think ‘poor thing’ and ‘sending grandmother out to work’ but that’s not the case at all," he continued.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, published in October 2008, state life expectancy in the UK to be 76.9 years for males and 81.3 years for females.

Between 1980-82 and 2004-06, life expectancy at age 65 in the UK increased by four years for men and 2.8 years for females.

Improving mortality rates mean that the chance of a new born boy reaching the age of 65 has increased from 74 per cent to 84 per cent.

The nation is getting further into debt by spending more than they earn on a monthly basis, a study has found.

Statistics compiled by Confused.com show that for every £1 earned in a year’s salary, a person will owe £1.02 in debts.

Gemma Stanbury, head of savings, loans and debt at Confused.com, commented: "As we face continued uncertainty and increased financial pressures, it is good advice for all to become more aware of what they are spending and on what.

"Where spend and debt can be reduced, efforts should be made to ensure it is done."

This may involve enlisting the expertise of a debt management company, which could be of benefit to residents of Kingston-Upon-Thames where people are said to owe 169 per cent of their annual income.

Furthermore, spenders in Surrey are found to have £2,000-worth of outstanding debts on their credit cards.

According to figures published by the British Bankers Association in March, credit card lending has risen by £300 million with the annual growth rate reaching 8.5 per cent.

Activity in the construction industry is still experiencing a decline, although some areas of the housing market are improving.

This is according to a new report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which showed 45 per cent of surveyors reporting a fall in workloads during the first quarter of this year.

"Despite some sub-sectors showing slightly more positive signs, construction output is likely to post a double digit drop over the course of 2009 with a further loss of employment and skills in the industry," predicted Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

The figures revealed that 38 per cent more surveyors are predicting a fall in business as opposed to a rise, while 46 per cent are anticipating a drop in employment levels.

Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert report from April showed that property services, construction and financial services had been the hardest hit sectors when compared with the first quarter of 2008.

All three sectors reported a year-on-year increase of more than 100 per cent in the number of companies experiencing critical problems, the report also found.

Cash payments are likely to be here to stay, despite the rising popularity of plastic cards, a survey shows.

Commissioned by the ATM operator Bank Machine, the research suggests there are many activities people rely on cash payments for, including transactions involving street retailers and local newsagents.

Ron Delnevo, managing director of Bank Machine, said: "Cash is here to stay because – despite dubious tactics used by the card schemes to force us into electronic payment methods – the British public simply won’t be told what to do."

He also emphasised the importance of not giving in to systems which the public do not need or simply cannot afford.

The study names several factors which impact the amount of cash used as payment, including the introduction of contactless debit cards and mobile payment technology.

It also highlights the decline in acceptance of cheques and card marketing schemes as potential pressures on cash usage.

According to the latest quarterly statistical release from APACS, the UK Payments Association, plastic card spending is up 5.4 per cent from this time last year, reaching a total of £94.2 billion.