The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 2 plus 4 letter word ENTITLED TO BAIL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
N
T
I
T
L
E
D
T
O
B
A
I
L
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "On debit, a little freedom" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case on debit, a little freedom = entitled to bail.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.