Community

Financial Literacy for life

Barclays has launched a £3.6m scheme to foster financial literacy and help older people and disadvantaged families across the UK to make the most of their income. Two not-for-profit organisations - children's charity NCH and Help the Aged - have received funding of £1.8m each to promote sound financial management and offer debt advice. The company also hopes that as many as 3,500 of its staff will work with the charities to provide advice on money management and general training on personal finance. It is hoped that the three-year programme will reach around 140,000 low-income families and 130,000 elderly people. Contact Michael O’Toole, Barclays 020 7116 6137 www.barclays.com

Money talks

HBOS is investing over £1m in the rollout of a series of financial education programmes for children and adults across the UK, it announced on May 10. The national scheme, which builds on the success of pilot projects in Edinburgh and Halifax, will initially run for three years.

Financial and social inclusion specialists A4e will deliver the programmes. MoneyHelp is aimed at adults who are financially excluded or have limited basic skills, while MoneyHelp Schools is a pilot programme for adolescents. Contact Mark Hemingway, HBOS 01422 333 253 www.hbos.co.uk

Figuring things out

HSBC North America has awarded more than $1m in financial education grants to 12 not-for-profit organisations across the US, supporting personal finance, homeownership and credit management training to tens of thousands of individuals and families in seven states and the district of Columbia.

Programmes include direct training and assistance for first-time homebuyers, financial education training for women, and support for personal finance courses by faith-based organisations. Contact Linda Recupero, HSBC 00 1 212 525 3800 www.hsbc.com

Levelling the playing field

The government launched on May 26 a timetable of plans to help boost the rights of consumers and improve the regulation of businesses, following royal assent on the Consumer Credit Act 2006.
Provisions within the act will be rolled out over the next two years. From April 2007, the new unfair relationships test will be introduced, empowering consumers to challenge unfair treatment. Customers will also have access to a free and independent dispute scheme provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
From April 2008, lenders will be obliged to give their customers clearer and more regular information on the state of their credit accounts. Contact DTI 020 7215 5000
www.dti.gov.uk