Policy paper

Summary of Financial Inclusion Policy Forum meeting – February 2023

Published 10 July 2023

The Financial Inclusion Policy Forum (“the Forum”) brings together senior stakeholders from industry, the third sector, and consumer groups to promote collaboration and provide the leadership needed to tackle financial exclusion. The Forum’s tenth meeting was held on 14 February 2023 at Money Advice Trust’s office in Birmingham and was chaired by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

1. Agenda items of the tenth meeting included:

• An introduction from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and an update on recent work the government has taken forward within financial inclusion.
• A presentation from Caroline Siarkiewicz, CEO of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), on improving financial capability and consumer support.
• A presentation from Sacha Romanovitch and Richard Collier-Keywood on Fair4All Finance’s work on affordable credit, followed by a discussion on possible ways of improving access to credit for the most vulnerable consumer groups.
• A discussion on accessibility in financial services, including a talk from Matt Stringer on the work carried out by the Royal Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in relation to financial inclusion and the challenges faced by people with sight loss, followed by a presentation from Kathryn Townsend on the initiatives industry is undertaking to support people with disabilities and health conditions.
• Reflections on the effectiveness of the current Forum and ideas on how to improve the format of the Forum going forward.

1. Key themes of the discussion included:

• In his introduction, the EST highlighted that the financial inclusion agenda is one of his priorities. The EST also noted the publication of the Buy Now Pay Later consultation as well as highlighting measures in the recent Financial Services and Markets Bill that promote financial inclusion.
• Under the second agenda item, Caroline Siarkiewicz set out MaPS’ role on financial wellbeing and highlighted the work carried out to coordinate activity under their Financial Wellbeing Strategy. Forum members also discussed financial education, noting the importance of financial education in schools and highlighting the financial services firms and charities who are leading efforts to reach young people.
• Under the third agenda item, Fair4All Finance presented their work on scaling affordable credit and key achievements in this space to date. The presentation also highlighted good practice happening internationally. Forum members discussed Consumer Duty and support for the no interest loan scheme pilot, as well as noting the role of credit unions in driving financial inclusion.
• Under the fourth agenda item, Matt Stringer highlighted the work carried out by RNIB to help tackle challenges around financial exclusion and accessibility. Kathryn Townsend noted the importance of ensuring accessibility is imbedded into financial services from the outset. Forum members discussed the link between mental health and accessibility and noted the challenges associated with managing finances for those experiencing mental health problems. The discussion was also focussed on the benefits of focusing on specific actions to drive progress on financial inclusion.
• Under the fifth agenda item, the EST welcomed Forum members’ feedback on how to best use the Forum going forward and reiterated his desire to ensure the Forum is used to create tangible outcomes.