To mark the 50th anniversary of credit unions in Britain, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrea Leadsom, has launched a Call for Evidence on the future of the credit unions sector. The Call for Evidence published yesterday, entitled British Credit Unions at 50: A Call for Evidence, seeks views from credit unions themselves on what the sector should look like in the future, as well as from the private sector and wider society.
It was launched by the Economic Secretary at a reception of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Credit Unions and asks a number of questions to inform the credit union movement’s vision for their sector, and sees suggestions for how can the government can help them achieve it. It also asks what more the private sector and wider society can do to support credit unions?
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrea Leadsom (pictured), said: “In its 50th anniversary year, Britain’s credit union movement has a proud record of supporting its members through thick and thin. Over the next 50 years, I want to see credit unions continue to grow and play a full part in a more competitive and diverse financial services landscape for their customers.”
ABCUL Chief Executive Mark Lyonette said: “I very much welcome today’s announcement and look forward to working with credit unions to feed back on this call for evidence and work with Government to create an even better environment for credit unions to operate in. Recent changes in legislation, a major Government funding programme and valuable support from high profile supporters means an exciting situation for British credit unions in our 50th anniversary year. As we face new opportunities and challenges this is an ideal time for us to review what we need as a sector to continue growing and thriving.”
The Call for Evidence builds on the support the government has already provided to credit unions, including the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP), which will make an investment of up to £38 million with the aim of modernising and expanding the credit union sector.
The Call for Evidence will be open for 12 weeks, and the government is particularly keen to hear innovative ideas for how it can support credit unions to provide responsible financial services to even more people in their communities.
Full details are available here – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/british-credit-unions-at-50-call-for-evidence/call-for-evidence-british-credit-unions-at-50
