On Tuesday 12 November we convened the fifth meeting of the Financial Inclusion Action Group. The Action Group was set up by Fair4All Finance in 2022, bringing together key stakeholders from across mainstream financial services, the community finance sector, third sector organisations and other driving forces passionate about reducing financial exclusion. A summary of the most recent discussion is included below.
Since inception, the group has played a key role in driving forward the actions identified in the Financial Inclusion Plan with a focus on improving access to affordable credit and, importantly in championing the cause of people in financially vulnerable circumstances and the need for system wide change to address the complex barriers that people face when trying to access the right financial products and services they need, when they need them.
In previous meetings, the group discussed Labour’s commitment to Financial Inclusion and have also spent time since the general election discussing the planned Financial Inclusion Strategy and what we collectively believe the priorities for that strategy should be.
In the November meeting we took this conversation forward and discussed our priorities for the strategy and which targets would help drive the most impactful action.
As a group, there was consensus and a strong feeling about where the new strategy, and the government led committee that will develop and oversee its implementation, can benefit from and use the existing evidence base and the work already underway.
Both HM Treasury and the FCA attend the Financial Inclusion Action Group as observers, so this sort of collaboration has already been embedded in the discussions of the action group.
The second topic we covered was the role of the Action Group now that the new committee is being formed with a strong government mandate. The group will continue to sit and complement the work of the Committee where possible, as it will be important that as many voices as possible are heard from across financial services and civil society to reach a bold and transformational financial inclusion strategy.
Huge thanks to all the members, and the organisations they represent, for continuing to focus on this important topic and for your open and collaborative approach.
