Scottish Debt Help and Advice
THERE have been calls of late for the Scottish Government to reintroduce warrant sale-style procedures; these seem now to have found a sympathetic ear. The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB), a Scottish Government agency that advises ministers on matters relating to debt law, has said it is prepared to consider how the replacement procedure that was […]
The Credit Services Association (CSA), a trade body that represents debt recovery and purchase organisations, has raised its concerns that new guidelines for the Standard Financial Statement (SFS) may exacerbate the position many consumers find themselves in when struggling with problem debts. The Standard Financial Statement, which the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) have recommended be […]
Originally published in the Herald, as an Agenda piece, I make the argument that Scottish debt policy is broken, was explored. Despite personal debt levels in the UK now having returned to pre-credit crunch levels, new figures released by the Improvement Service, reveal that free, local authority-funded debt advice services have now seen their funding […]
New proposals by the Scottish Government to introduce changes to the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) are to be welcomed (See Debt Arrangement Scheme: The Way Forward). However, the question is, do they go far enough to save the Scheme, which saw a 49% reduction in take up following the introduction of changes in 2014-15 and […]
The announcement that North Ayrshire Citizen Advice Service (NACAS) is closing its doors at the end of this month, after twenty years, brings into sharp focus the critical issue of funding that advice agencies in Scotland are now facing. It also urgently underlines the need for a national discussion on how front-line advice services are […]
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 […]
