- Area:
- North East England
- Programme:
- Improving Financial Confidence
- Release date:
- 22 8 2012
Money saving expert Martin Lewis is backing a multi-million pound Big Lottery Fund announcement today aimed at preventing thousands of the most vulnerable people living in social housing across the North East from falling into the debt trap.
Big Lottery Fund (BIG) today announces funding that will help tenants in Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Country Durham become more financially aware, more confident in money management - and better able to access financial products and services such as a basic bank account.
People without access to basic financial products are facing a poverty premium as they pay more for everyday services – and not having a bank account can even act as a barrier to work as some employers require bank accounts for payment of wages or salaries.
Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Disgracefully it costs more to be poor.The poverty premium means, from household goods to energy bills, things are more expensive for those with little cash as they need to borrow to buy or don’t get the direct debit discounts others take for granted.
Martin continued: “Sadly we still don’t have compulsory financial education on the curriculum, and even then, more will be needed to help the financially excluded. This is even more important as the universal credit means many on benefits will have to take greater control of their own money management.
“The Big Lottery Fund’s Improving Financial Confidence programme is a good step towards that and should provide help and information to 150,000 people who find themselves without access to products and services like bank accounts or contents insurance. Hopefully it will reduce the risk of desperation driving people into relying on costly payday loans or even loan sharks.”
Coast & Country Housing is receiving £799,729 to support first time social housing tenants throughout the borough of Redcar and Cleveland prepare for forthcoming tenancies by offering access to information about financial products and services. This will give them the skills to better manage their tenancies and reduce the likelihood of falling into debt.
The project will help 3,500 first time tenants - 1,150 of which will be supported to reduce their weekly outgoings by switching to better deals. Around 500 first time tenants will be helped to improve their employability through access to training and 375 fewer first time tenants will lose their tenancies within a year.
One of their tenants, Leslie Wainwright, from South Bank, served with the RAF for ten years as a senior aircraftsman and rearmed and refuelled Tornado jets patrolling the skies over Iraq in the early 1990s. After leaving the forces he had a stroke, was made redundant and became a tenant of Coast and Country Housing when the family home came under threat of repossession.
The 42-year-old father of two said: “I worked in an incinerator plant for ten years and then had a stroke. I couldn’t work anymore and was made redundant. My wife works part-time but we relied on my salary. We never had any insurance to cover such an eventuality – it never occurred to me as I felt young. I used to be in the RAF so I was naive in terms of handling my finances.
“I used to have a blinkered view of jobless people and people on benefit until it happened to me. It’s been a real eye opener. I’m now fit again and doing training in IT while looking for work.”
Iain Sim, Chief Executive of Coast & Country Housing, said: “This Big Lottery Fund grant will be used to help first-time tenants to get off to the best possible start in their new homes so that they can manage their bills, get the best deals on essentials like gas and electricity and avoid getting into debt. It’s important to work with people before they get their tenancy, letting them know how much it costs to run a home, including things like council tax, home insurance as well as their rent, food and other bills. We will also talk to them about budgeting, how to get a low interest loan if they need one and continue to help them after they move in.”
Erimus Housing is receiving £884,299 to help young people living in social housing in Middlesbrough. Its project aims to improve access to financial information and advice for 3,600 young people. The project aims to increase the amount of money in beneficiaries’ pockets by £630,000 to reduce the amount of debt by 20 per cent, change the financial behaviour of 2,400 beneficiaries and reduce tenancy turnover for new tenants by 50 per cent. The young people will benefit from activities delivered by a new hub in the town centre which will act as a meeting place and drop in centre offering advice and information.
Livin Housing Ltd has been awarded £841,415 to create a partnership which will ensure that both the young and first time tenants of social housing in County Durham are given greater access to information and services to improve financial confidence. It will work with
tenants who are already established and others at the point of application and before the keys are handed over. The project will support 20,297 beneficiaries - 5,000 with obtaining bank accounts, savings accounts and insurance, 6,200 with affordable furniture and fuel solutions and 2,500 using affordable credit services.
James Turner, Big Lottery Fund Head of the North East region, said: “We want to prevent people on very low income from falling into debt or stop their debts from getting worse. Without the right advice people can take out unsuitable loans which can send their debts spiralling.
“Recent changes in legislation, such as the benefits cap and the introduction of Universal Credit - whereby benefits payments go to the head of the household rather than directly to the landlord - mean there is even more pressure on tenants to take responsibility for managing their finances. This means today’s investment could not come at a more important time.”
Figures released this month by the Insolvency Service* show there has been close to a 10 per cent surge in debt relief orders since the same quarter last year.
And the latest Department of Work and Pensions Family Resources Survey** published in June shows that 16 per cent of people on the lowest income (less than £100 a week) still do not have access to a bank account – compared to just three per cent of the general population. Some 14 per cent of young people do not have an account.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- The latest Insolvency Service statistics can be found here: http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/About-us/our-performance-statistics/insolvency-statistics
- **The full Department of Work and Pensions Family Resources Survey can be found here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs/2010_11/frs_2010_11_report.pdf
- ***A consortium led by the National Housing Federation (NHF) produced the scoping document that helped inform the development of IFC. It is accessible here http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_improving_financial_confidence_scoping_document.pdf
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