The scheme provides a 60-day grace period wherein the person with problem debts will be protected from nearly all legal action from creditors, during which they will work alongside a debt advice agency. There are several personal debts that this scheme can apply to, these include:

Using the Breathing Space scheme will also assist in preventing these debts from continuing to accrue contractual interest, default interest, fees, and charges while the grace period is active.

These measures are also applicable to certain vulnerable individuals that are taking part in mental health crisis treatment; however, the duration is amended to the length of their treatment plus an additional 30 days. Within the first year of its operation, the government predicts that the Breathing Space scheme will be used by up to 700,000 people in England and Wales.

The scheme will also benefit creditors as it is estimated that in the first year of operation over £400 million will be able to be paid in extra repayments as people will gain the ability to receive the support that they require to regain control of their repayments.