Here’s a selection of the press and online coverage of the campaign to #SaveDebtAdvice
MARCH 2023
Why Are Debt Advisers Holding Protests? (Centre for Responsible Credit, 15th March 2023)
Unite calls on Chancellor for action to help families plunging into desperate debt (Unite, 13th March 2023)
Union activists and debt campaigners protest outside DWP (Morning Star, 13th March 2023)
Unite calls on Chancellor to increase and expand the funding of debt advice (RightsNet, 13th March 2023 – subscription required)
Union and campaigners to stage protest calling for increased debt advice funding (Irish Times, 13th March 2023)
Citizens Advice Reveals Debt Adviser Redundancies Are Now ‘Increasingly Likely’ (Centre for Responsible Credit, 10th March 2023)
Our Save Debt Advice day of action on 13th March 2023 was also covered in the Daily Express, I-paper and Manchester Evening News
DECEMBER 2022
MaPS reveals 21% real terms cut to grants for debt advice compared to 2019/20 (We Are Debt Advisers, 14th December 2022 – FOI response here)
NOVEMBER 2022
We need to talk about debt advice (11th November 2022 – briefing here)
OCTOBER 2022
This is a terrible time to overhaul debt advice services (Financial Times, 19th October 2022)
AUGUST 2022
MaPS responds to WADA call for contract extensions (We Are Debt Advisers, 24th August 2022)
Debt advice agencies under strain as the cost-of-living crisis deepens (We Are Debt Advisers, 17th August 2022)
MARCH 2022
Fully funded debt advice services essential as cost of living crisis blights millions of lives, warns Unite (Unite, 25th March 2023)
Campaigners Celebrate End of Debt Commissioners’ ‘Ill-Fated Adventure’ (Quids In, 22nd March 2022)
MaPS Must Change (We Are Debt Advisers, 22nd March 2022 – joint statement with UDAN and Advice UK here)
MaPs releases heavily redacted Board papers in response to WADA request (We Are Debt Advisers, 15th March 2022 – FOI response here and redacted board papers here)
The uncertain future of debt advice (Legal Action, March 2022)
FEBRUARY 2022
MaPS to increase funding for debt advice services (Credit Strategy, 17th February 2022)
A huge relief, but MaPS must now be changed for good (We Are Debt Advisers, 15th February 2022)
JANUARY 2022
Unite for Debt Advice Workers! (Unite For Our Society, 24th January 2022)
Calls to save ‘essential’ face-to-face debt advice services (Manchester Evening News, 24th January 2022)
Shadow Cabinet member backs debts service fight in Bury and Bolton (Bury Times, 18th January 2022)
Bolton MP backs letter call to safeguard debt services (The Bolton News, 13th January 2022)
Sheffield debt advice services are given reprieve (The Star, 7th January 2022)
Sign our open letter to John Glen MP (We Are Debt Advisers, 7th January 2022 – letter here)
Nadia on… Debt (Left Lion, 4th January 2022)
Martin Lewis slams ‘substantial cut’ to face-to-face debt advice services (Express, 2nd January 2022)
DECEMBER 2021
WADA responds to MaPS commissioning update (We Are Debt Advisers, 22nd December 2021)
Debt advice cuts suspended after Unite campaign (Unite Live, 18th December 2021)
Changes to debt advice services set to “significantly” cut vital face-to-face support – and vulnerable people will be hit hardest (Money & Mental Health Policy Institute, 17th December 2021)
Government urged to prevent New Year debt advice crisis (We Are Debt Advisers, 15th December 2021)
MaPS fails to provide Equalities and Vulnerability Impact Assessment (We Are Debt Advisers, 15th December 2021)
Survey of debt advisers reveals huge discontent with Money and Pensions Service (We Are Debt Advisers, 10th December 2021)
Letter: Don’t let this vital advice service suffer cuts (Bolton News, 9th December 2021)
MaPS recommissioning of debt advice services: will it meet the needs of clients in vulnerable situations? (University of Bristol Personal Finance Research Centre, 8th December 2021)
Decommissioning debt advice in Leeds (We Are Debt Advisers, 8th December 2021)
That Advice UK submission to MaPs in full… (We Are Debt Advisers, 8th December 2021 – submission here)
Life-saving Leeds debt advice service loses £100,000 funding in controversial shake-up (Yorkshire Post, 5th December 2021)
Trainee debt advisers – casualties of the MaPS procurement exercise? (We Are Debt Advisers, 3rd December 2021)
‘Incomprehensible’ £3m cut to face-to-face debt advice services will put lives at risk, Yorkshire MPs warn (Yorkshire Post, 2nd December 2021)
NOVEMBER 2021
Our comments on MaPS’ non-response to the Treasury Committee (We Are Debt Advisers, 30th November 2021 – full comments here)
Face-to-face debt advice services in Northamptonshire could be ‘completely lost’ after proposed funding changes take effect (Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 26th November 2021)
Our appeal to Caroline Siarkiewizc, Chief Executive of the Money and Pensions Service (We Are Debt Advisers, 25th November 2021)
Latest briefing in the campaign to save debt advice (We Are Debt Advisers, 22nd November 2021 – briefing here)
We need to maintain face to face money advice services in Glasgow (Glasgow Times, 15th November 2021)
Fighting cuts to debt advice (Red Pepper, 12th November 2021)
Former Debt Adviser secretly tells UCAN of MaPS contract (Universal Credit Action Network, 12th November 2021)
Debt advice shake-up in England could reduce face-to-face help (Guardian, 8th November 2021)
The Future of Debt Advice (Unite For Our Society, 8th November 2021)
Talk Money Week: Proposal to halve key debt advice funding will cause advice deserts (Unite, 8th November 2021)
The ‘deserts’ of debt advice (Unite Live, 8th November 2021)
Defending Debt Advice (Tribune, 7th November 2021)
Debt advice is being cut when it’s needed most, but workers are fighting back (Labour Outlook, 5th November 2021)
OCTOBER 2021
Free debt advisers are key workers too and have helped some of society’s most vulnerable people (Independent, 27th October 2021)
Fears over the future of free debt advice (BBC News, 22nd October 2021)
Why it is time to lobby MPs (We Are Debt Advisers, 11th October 2021)
Unite Debt Advice Network 