The HM Treasury-commissioned Thoresen Review of generic financial advice, which reported in March 2008, set out a blueprint for the Money Guidance service and recommended that this is tested through a large-scale pilot or ‘pathfinder’. The Government accepted this recommendation and announced on 3 March 2008 the £12 million pathfinder project, jointly led and funded by the FSA and HM Treasury.
The Money Guidance pathfinder, based in the North West and the North East of England, will provide impartial guidance on the telephone, online and face-to-face from this spring. This will be done in partnership with a range of organisations that have been chosen because they are experienced in delivering financial guidance to consumers.
The partners are:
• A4E - a private sector provider/contractor of front line public services;
• Citizens Advice service - a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice;
• Knowsley Advice Forum (led by Citizens Advice Knowsley) - a partnership formed by the advice sector in Knowsley working together to ensure that Knowsley residents receive the right advice, guidance and support; and
• Liverpool Money Talk Consortium (RAISE) - a partnership of Liverpool advice centres with several years' experience in delivering financial skills training, as well as money advice and guidance to financially excluded people.
The Money Guidance telephone partner will be Teleperformance which is a provider of outsourced contact centre solutions and has worked with FSA since 2002. In addition to its existing service, The Consumer Credit Counselling Service, an experienced debt management charity, has offered to provide telephone-based money guidance to its own clients.
Chris Pond, FSA director of financial capability, said: “This is another step towards the provision of impartial guidance on money matters that so many people desperately need in today's difficult circumstances. We are delighted to announce the partners who will work with us and the Government to deliver this service to help consumers.
“Money Guidance will give more consumers the capability to make sound money choices, to know what questions to ask of their financial service provider, and, just as importantly, to have the confidence to do so and to know where to go if things go wrong.
“We continue to be in discussion with a number of other commercial, third sector and non-profit organisations to identify partners to help fill roles and identified segments, and we hope to announce these in the spring.”
