This week we were thrilled to speak at a parliamentary reception to celebrate the dormant assets scheme. The release of dormant assets for good causes is creating new opportunities to make a lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable people. Our Chair, Richard Collier-Keywood spoke about the challenge we are tackling and the impact we hope to have with the funds we’ve received from the scheme.
We were particularly pleased to be able to give a platform to two responsible lenders, giving them an opportunity to speak about their work and to also hear directly from their customers Tom and Alison.
Michael Sheen also joined us to speak about the urgent issue of financial inclusion, something he is both passionate and knowledgeable about as the founder of the End High Cost Credit Alliance. Michael drew attention to the fact that people who end up using high-cost credit, including pay-day loans and white-goods rent-to-own services, often become increasingly financially vulnerable as a result, with many going on to take out additional loans in order to pay back their original debt.
Youth Futures Foundation – who were launched out of the same strategy as Fair4All Finance and were awarded £90m to increase youth opportunities – were also in attendance to promote their work to help young people a long way from the labour market into meaningful employment.
We are encouraged by the support of all who attended and are grateful for the support of MPs, particularly Nigel Huddleston MP who hosted the event, John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Mims Davies, Minister for Sport and Civil Society who both spoke passionately at the event.
