Government Minister ‘deeply Grateful' For Sector's Role In Communities
10th June 2022
Addressing credit union professionals at the ABCUL Conference last month, John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, highlighted the positive impact the sector have in communities across the country.
The Minister thanked credit unions in his speech for "delivering services that your members, communities, and the country need... providing an ethical home for savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.
"Whether that be through the Pennine Community Credit Union's efforts to provide savings accounts and affordable loans to communities across East Lancashire and Cumbria or Just Credit Union's new education grant to help young people to continue in further education."
Just Credit Union introduced Roger Walker Education Award which assists young people to remain in education. Just Credit Union member, Mim Maclean received a £500 educational grant to apply for student accommodation. Mim said: "I would like to thank Just Credit Union for awarding me this grant. Being autistic, I struggle to share accommodation and can only take up my place if I could afford more expensive studio accommodation. The money will help greatly."
Mr Glen told the conference: "Again and again, the sector has lived its core values, putting people before profit and rising to meet the challenges of our times. Your members relied on you throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, including a lifeline for people to borrow affordably when they needed to most. The government is deeply grateful to you for these efforts."
Steve Barras, Development Officer at Just Credit Union, said afterwards: “We were delighted that Just Credit Union’s community focus was mentioned by the Secretary to the Treasury, because it reflects how important we believe supporting the community is. It is also recognition of the hard work of our entire team who all put members and community first.”
Steve added that the Roger Walker Education Award will be offered again this year with applications opening in July.
Source - Shropshire Star
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Many people want to save and help their community by making funds available at good rates from a local entity such as Hi-Scot Credit Union that covers Highland and Islands. Credit Unions encourage savings as well as offering affordable borrowing but lets take a closer look.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that one in ten people have no cash savings at all, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency. The regulator's research also shows that one in four people in the UK have low financial resilience, meaning that they have missed payments, are struggling to keep up with commitments, or don't have savings to help them through difficulties.
Credit unions have been around a long time. Hi-Scot credit union covers the Highland and Islands and it is easy to save or borrow at good rates.
Saving money regularly can help improve sleep, a new report suggests. Putting a monthly amount aside, however small the sum, also helped people to relax and be more optimistic about the future, the study by academics at Bristol University found.
The latest information from the Bank of England shows that adult membership of credit unions across the UK is increasing. The total number of adult members has been steadily increasing.
3500 thousand credit union members save with Hi-Scot credit union. Starting to save in January will make things a lot easier by Christmas 2024.
At meeting of the board of the Hi-Scot Credit Union the directors agreed not to follow other institutions like banks to put up interest rates. Well worth checking what rates you can still get from a credit union.
Hi-Scot credit union covers the Highland and Islands and is a not for profit organisation helping more and more people. Hi-Scot has been growing slowly over recent years and now holds significant savings.
The figures were revealed as the government plans new rules for the sector, allowing it to deliver more products including car finance. Figures from the Bank of England show that credit unions are lending record sums to UK customers, as the cost of borrowing continues to rise.
As the world begins to hesitantly open up, it's no surprise that the past two years have taught us the value of shopping local. But have you ever thought about banking local? "A credit union is rooted in the community, especially as it is owned by its members and not external shareholders," said David Mackay, General Manager of HI-Scot Credit Union.
