1

Debt: Too Poor To Pay

Darren Bruce

30 October 2013

2

Money Advice Service

• Money Advice Services (financial capability) across the UK via

web, telephone and F2F channels

• Debt advice – funder and coordination role

Dual Role

• Longer-term funding for providers of debt advice

• Quality Framework & Evaluation Framework

• Common approach to assessing ability to repay via common

budget

• Research to better understand people in debt

Debt Advice Developments / Work in Progress

• Rising cost of living

• Decrease in real-term wages

• Welfare reform

• Coping with life events

• Lack of knowledge about where to get free

advice

Client Challenges

• Scale of the problem?

• Supply & Demand (Annually)

• Segmentation of debt clients (27 November

2013)

• Financial Capability of UK (August 2013)

• Habit Formation & Learning in Young Children

(May 2013)

Our Research

New innovations??

• Should we stimulate demand for debt advice?

• If yes, how can we best stimulate demand for debt advice?

• What can be done to target families with young children and what

service would they need/want?

• How can we work better together to treat clients holistically e.g.

integrating financial capability and debt in the customer journey,

joining up different services etc?

• Are currently debt solutions fit for the circumstances clients face?

• Is email and under-used channel of advice?

Key Questions