Market engagement begins for No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot
Fair4All Finance, Toynbee Hall and Fair By Design recently kicked off a period of market engagement for the NILS pilot with a call for local and national partners to get involved.
The pilot team outlined their plans during two webinars with a message from John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. There was plenty of thoughtful engagement and great questions on both calls, with attendees including community finance providers, housing associations and local authorities.
NILS loans will provide a vital financial cushion for people unable to access or afford exiting forms of credit, but who can afford to repay small sums, by offering a way to spread essential or emergency costs.
Local councils, housing associations and charities are encouraged to form partnerships with lenders and provide co-funding to help increase the amount of people the pilot can reach.
These partnerships are key to the success of the scheme. And the NILS pilot team are happy to facilitate matching lenders and local partners as part of the market engagement process.
Following the webinars, the team shared a market engagement pack with a draft contract for services and contract guide, along with an FAQ document with all the questions and answers from the webinars.
The pack includes more details on current plans for the NILS pilot approach. It’s designed to gather feedback on the pilot design and assumptions to help the pilot team shape the scheme.
The pack includes more details on current plans for the NILS pilot approach. It’s designed to gather feedback on the pilot design and assumptions to help the pilot team shape the scheme.
If you missed the webinars or would like a copy of the market engagement materials, please email us at programmes@fair4allfinance.org.uk.