UKAR ARena Issue 7: Winter 2013 | Page 10

10 TAKING THE LONG VIEW. A new approach to funding debt advice, with Chris May, Debt Advice Manager at the Money Advice Service. It is one of the most pressing issues facing any provider of debt advisory services - and for most agencies securing long-term, future funding is an on-going concern. So the introduction of a new three-year funding arrangement beginning in Autumn this year has been warmly welcomed. Announced by the Money Advice Service at the end of 2013, the long-term model will give their six major partners (who manage 225 debt advice agencies across England and Wales) the opportunity to seek guaranteed income over 36 – instead of the usual 12 – months. At the same time the partners involved - Citizens Advice, benefits to customers, debt advisors and the industry as a whole. We predict that moving from an annual to a threeyear plan will give partners greater security and stability. We also hope that the new arrangement will ensure customers receive the tailored support they expect and enable debt advisors to invest in longer-term planning and training, contributing to a more cost-effective approach overall. “In the past, partners have struggled with the short-term nature of funding. It makes it difficult to ensure continuity and there have even been instances where staff members have been issued with redundancy notices while they waited for new funding to be approved, something any organisation would seek to avoid.” Capitalise, Community Finance Solutions, Greater Merseyside Money Advice Partnership, Bristol Debt Advice Centre and East Midlands Money Advice – will be asked to demonstrate how they will deliver services, in a bid to maintain standards and promote efficiency. Launching in October 2014, the new agreements will run until the end of September 2017 and could become a model for future working. Chris May, Debt Advice Manager at the Money Advice Service, explains how the scheme will work in practice and highlights potential benefits for the wider debt advisory industry. He says: “Three-year funding represents a change for all of our partners and one which we hope will bring immediate 10 UKAR ARENA WINTER 2013 He adds: “For us the move is significant. The Service took over management of funding from the government in April 2012 and in the first year our partners helped 58 per cent more people to get their finances back on track. They’re on target to match that by the end of this financial year so things are progressing well but the new arrangement also offers a chance to review and improve all of our working. “For the rest of this year we’re inviting our lead partners to demonstrate how they can deliver efficient services, in line with our wider objectives, as part of their bid for funding. We have already visited 120 out of the 225 Debt Advice Centres so we have seen for ourselves the best practice that exists and we want to help agencies build on that.