Ministers have scrapped plans to discontinue a scheme aimed at helping people stay out of debt following intense lobbying from the National Housing Federation and other campaigners. The Financial Inclusion Fund provides free face-to-face debt advice to vulnerable people with acute financial problems. The Federation warned of the impact cutting this vital service could have on thousands of low income families and their concerns were voiced in the national press. The Government has now announced a reprieve for the fund which costs £27m per annum, backtracking on plans to make over 500 redundancies. Debt advisers funded through the scheme help 100,000 people with complex debt issues each year, including representing clients' interests to lenders. The 500 specialist debt advisers, based in Citizens Advice offices and community halls around England and Wales, had already been sent redundancy letters as the Government planned to terminate funding for the scheme at the end of March. Read more on the NHF website.
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