Scottish Debt Help and Advice
The largest survey of UK debt advisers has been launched to gain an insight into how they support clients that are in vulnerable situations. The new research, which is asking for advice agencies to sign up and participate in the project, is being carried out by the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre (PRFC), […]
With the next financial year likely to be a pivotal one for the money advice sector, in the UK and in Scotland, Alan McIntosh looks at a growing theme of whether a UK or Scottish approach should be adopted. The big issues in money advice in the coming year will relate to funding and whether […]
In the 1970s, Margaret Thatcher was accused of being a “milk snatcher” when she attempted to end free milk in schools for all over sevens. It was a name that haunted her for the rest of her career. It would be a sad indictment on the Scottish Government, so soon after they passed the Child […]
After the home ownership revolution of the 1980s and 1990s, when millions of tenants were sold the dream of owning their own home, the UK Government is now rolling out the final chapter in that dream for many. The proposed changes to the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme reads like an original Grimm Brothers fairy […]
Peter Wyman’s review into the funding of the debt Advice sector in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, is disappointing. It contains few observations of note, is uninspiring and was not insightful. The one statement I found myself agreeing with was when he stated: “However, as all good authors say, the opinions, conclusions and recommendations […]
As the practice of buying and selling old debts has grown, money advisers across Scotland are now witnessing a rise in the number of people being pursued for old debts. Over the last few years, I have seen many clients in this situation and have heard of similar cases from other advisers. Many of the […]
It is not unusual for clients in formal debt solutions to find they are still subject to debt recovery action by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) for benefit overpayments, when they believed such action should have stopped. So can the DWP still recover overpaid benefits whilst a claimant is in a formal debt […]
Scottish money advice services should pay particular attention to the plans of the UK Treasury for statutory debt management and breathing space schemes for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The schemes, which will not be extended to Scotland, as they fall within areas devolved to the Scottish Parliament, are already provided for by the Debt […]
The UK Money Advice Service (MAS) has released a new report, Debt Solutions in the UK: Recommendations for Change. Now as a Scot, I am instinctively suspicious of such reports. It is not the role of the Money Advice Service to make policy recommendations for formal debt solutions in Scotland. These are devolved matters, exclusively […]
Monday evening’s bankruptcy expose by BBC Panorama, of former millionaires, now bankrupt and still apparently living the high life, was confused and misleading (Millionaire Bankrupts Exposed). The investigation, which looked at a handful of bankrupts, attempted to show how they were still enjoying the benefits of luxury mansions and cars, whilst their creditors were being […]
