How to get involved
The Moneymadeclear money guidance service will be rolled-out across the UK from spring 2010. The Government and FSA will provide an initial £20m for the roll-out, which is expected to reach a million people by March 2011. The Government also announced its intention to commit at least 25% and up to £100m from the Dormant Accounts Scheme to fund the programme over a number of years (subject to availability of funds and other funding priorities). This follows the successful pathfinder in North East and North West England, on track to reach 500,000 people by March 2010, a year after launch.
An independent consumer financial education body will be established. This was announced by the recent Financial Services Bill and provisions will be brought-forward to lead the money guidance roll-out, as well as continue to take forward the National Strategy for Financial Capability, currently undertaken by the FSA.
How you can help
We are currently looking for suppliers to help provide the face-to-face element of the money guidance serviceThe aim of the face-to-face direct delivery activity is to:
- Offer consumers money guidance in the priority areas from spring 2010, ensuring that those who could benefit most from face-to-face money guidance are reached first;
- Develop a network of trusted intermediaries who will support the service; and
- Lay the groundwork for the Moneymadeclear national face-to-face service, which is due to be fully operational by late 2010.
How will it operate?
Money Guides will support the priority areas and deliver appointments that have been arranged at their premises by local trusted intermediary organisations.
Face-to-face sessions will typically last 30-40 minutes.
Initially, we will prioritise working with those organisations that have the greatest engagement with financially vulnerable people in the designated priority areas. These may include (but will not be restricted to):
• Local Authorities
• Jobcentres
• Employers
• Children Centres
• Advice Agencies
• Third Sector Organisations
• Housing Associations
• Credit Unions
Why should your organisation get involved?
As a trusted intermediary you can help your customers/clients to become more financially aware; help prevent debt crises and in the longer term help reduce the numbers of financial interventions, repossessions, and/or bankruptcies and ultimately improve their well being. Even if your organisation does not want to be part of the actual delivery service itself, you can still help by signposting the service to your customers/clients and/or by providing surgery facilities for the local Money Guide.
How is this activity different to the national face-to-face procurement?
The procurement process for organisations to deliver face-to-face sessions for national rollout began in January 2010 and is subject to OJEU (Open Journal of the European Union) timeframes so we do not expect to have full face-to-face capacity at a national level until the end of 2010. However the planned delivery to priority areas will allow those who could benefit from the service to be reached at an early stage of the rollout. The FSA will recruit, train and manage a small group of Money Guides on fixed-term contracts to deliver face-to-face sessions in the priority areas, until the end of 2010.
We are confident that activity we undertake can lay foundations that will help the organisations we are procuring through the OJEU process to deliver face-to-face money guidance in the long-term.
Which areas are a priority?
We will continue to operate in the original pathfinder areas of the North East and North West of England. We have also identified priority areas in the UK where a significant proportion of financially vulnerable people live. These areas are:
- Greater London (primarily inner London)
- South Wales
- Scotland (primarily the Glasgow area) and
- Northern Ireland
If you would like to be part of the Moneymadeclear service as a trusted intermediary or wish to obtain further information, please contact your local Regional Manager or email: [email protected]