Published 13 August 2023
Organisations awarded share of accessible advice fund.
People struggling to manage their household finances can now benefit from increased support in a range of community settings thanks to a new accessible advice fund.
Almost £1 million has been distributed to partnerships between advice agencies and other local services such as schools, charities, hospitals and mental health services.
The fund will build on the success of the Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships initiative that put dedicated advisers in to 180 GP practices in some of Scotland’s most deprived and rural areas – helping to reach those most in need.
There will be a particular emphasis on providing advice to those who are traditionally hardest to help or who have not sought advice before.
Background
Grants are being distributed on behalf of the Scottish Government by Advice UK, the largest support network for independent advice organisations in the UK.
Projects with a focus on families, including disabled or single parents, those caring for a disabled person and parents from minority ethnic communities are among those which have been successful in securing funding.
The scheme is funded in part through the Scottish allocation from the Debt Advice Levy, which is raised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority by applying a levy to UK Clearing banks and consumer credit businesses.
Evidence from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health has highlighted the success of embedding welfare advice in GP surgeries. Initial findings from an interim report, conducted by the Improvement Service and covering the period between January 2022 and March 2023, showed that 89% of the almost 10,000 Welfare Advice and Health Partnership service users were ‘new’ users of advice – highlighting that the provision of welfare advice in accessible and trusted settings is allowing wider populations to engage with vital services.
HERE is a table of the organisations that have been successful in their application to the fund.
Financial advice where people need it – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
