Expenditure
The CFT expenditure categories are:
•essential expenditure;
•phone costs;
•travel costs;
•housekeeping;
•other expenses.
Debt advisers and trustees should always investigate whether a client’s declared expenditure could be considered too high or too low. Except for essential expenditure, there are ‘trigger figures’ for each category.
Trigger figures
Trigger figures assist debt advisers/trustees to determine whether the amounts included in the financial assessment are acceptable or whether they should be subject to further investigation or the provision of additional evidence of expenditure.
It is important that the CFT trigger figures do not form the starting point for an assessment of expenditure. The CFT assessment should include details of the client’s actual circumstances.
Only when the full expenditure has been established and relevant evidence, or explanation, obtained, should the client’s financial circumstances be compared to the trigger figures.
The AiB, the trustee or trustee acting under a protected trust deed can allow expenditure over the trigger figures.
1Reg 15(3) B(S)A Regs; reg 3(3) CFT(S) Regs An explanation of why this expenditure is required must be provided, along with supporting evidence. Consideration will be given to whether this allowance is reasonable in the circumstances. For example, the client may be locked into a phone contract or paying for a phone for a child they do not live with in order to remain in contact.