Treasury reveals £38m support package for debt advice providers
Ministers have approved an extra £37.8m in support for debt advice providers this year so they can continue to help people during the coronavirus pandemic.
Allocation of the funds will be overseen by the Money and Pensions Service (Maps). Charities will also be eligible to receive support.
The Treasury today said the package will help providers to deliver advice to more people in England who are experiencing financial difficulties due to coronavirus. It will also help providers whose income has fallen during the pandemic.
“The impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on people’s financial wellbeing is significant and will continue for some time,” said Maps chief executive Caroline Siarkiewicz.
“We know there will be increased demand for free, expert debt advice services over the coming months and this extra funding will help to ensure that more people can access help more quickly.”
It added that the funding consists of £20.6m from the government and £14.2m raised through a one-off increase to the Financial Services Levy. Maps will be contributing a further £3m from its existing budget.
The package comes on top of all previously announced funding to support businesses and people.
The Treasury said today that the government’s Job Retention Scheme has helped to protect 8.7m jobs with £17.5bn claimed so far, while the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme has reported 2.5m claims worth £7.2bn.