The Money Advice Outcomes project team in the Improvement Service have published their Money Advice Performance Management Framework (MAPMF) annual report for 2016/17.
All Scotland’s 32 local authorities submitted data returns regarding the funding of money advice service in 2016/17.
The key findings were:
- Investment by local authorities totalled c.£11.72m, representing a reduction of 5% since 2015/16
- 305 FTE paid staff members were employed by the services, which represents a 5 FTE decrease when compared to 2015/16
- 31% of service users had a disposable household income of less than £6,000, and 50% less than £10,000 – the median household disposable income in the UK is £26,300
- 53% of clients reported having a disability or long-term condition, whereas around 20% of the general Scottish population has a disability or long-term condition
- The total debt owed by clients was c.£217m, an increase of around £2m in comparison to 2015/16
- c.111,000 people contacted the services, and c.49,000 new clients received support – in both cases this represents a 5% increase since 2015/16
- 19% of clients initially sought advice because of council tax arrears
- Money advice services delivered or funded by local authorities secured £101m in client financial gain
- For every £1 that was invested in money advice services, clients achieved financial gains of £4-9
The full report can be read here.
