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On Shrove Tuesday (13 Feb) staff, volunteers and supporters of Christians Against Poverty (CAP) gathered in Bradford’s City Park for a pancake flipping flash mob. The event saw a group of around fifty people whipping out their frying pans to cheerfully flip, juggle and even play catch with their pancakes for a continuous five minutes (to varying degrees of success!) Health and safety was observed throughout and every dropped pancake was disposed of once the event was over.

The ‘flip mob’ was part of CAP’s latest campaign, the Flipping Marvellous Pancake Party, which has seen people getting together up and down the country to highlight the work CAP does to tackle UK poverty.

Beth Prescott, the flip mob’s organiser and Pancake Party President, said, ‘There was a brilliant atmosphere in City Park during the flip mob, with lots of laughing, a wide range of flipping skills and we had so many people joining in!’

‘While this was an incredibly fun moment, we did it to highlight a serious problem. Living with problem debt is miserable, but CAP works hard to flip lives around by lifting people out of poverty. It’s a message of hope that we wanted everyone to hear and used this opportunity to spread that message.’

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has been named as the first ever 'Champion' supporter of the Keep Me Posted campaign to ensure consumers are not digitally and financially excluded.

The Keep Me Posted campaign recognises service providers who offer paper bills or statements free of charge, without altering their frequency unless they have consulted recipients first and without removing access to online services. Keep Me Posted already has the support of over 100 organisations, such as mental health charity Mind, the National Consumer Federation and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The new 'Champion' status is a reflection of how CAP provides all debt clients with the option of paper statements as well as face-to-face visits for each one in their own home.

Judith Donovan CBE, Chair of the Keep Me Posted campaign, said, 'Christians Against Poverty choosing to be our very first Keep Me Posted Champion is a reflection of both the ethos and the day-to-day work of the charity. Their recent study, Offline and shut out, clearly demonstrates that those who are in debt and poverty are less likely to have internet access, which restricts their ability to manage their financial affairs online. We are delighted to have their support and look forward to working closely together in the future.'

'When it comes to inspiring others, sharing his story and championing the poor, John is always ready to go again,' these were the words from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as he awarded CAP's founder John Kirkby the Langton Cross for Community Service.

The award, previously given to the likes of MP Frank Field and Credit Union champion Sir Hector Sans, was awarded to John for 'service to the poor by equipping the local church to be at the forefront of social change'.

Speaking afterwards, John said: 'It's been quite a day. I feel very grateful for the Archbishop's support of me personally and for his being our Patron at CAP. I accept this award on behalf of everyone at CAP. I am humbled and a little overwhelmed.'

New Christian John began CAP from his spare room in Great Horton, Bradford, in 1996 after both working for the finance industry and having his own financial crisis and considers himself CAP's first client. Since those early days, the charity has grown to help around 25,000 people a year tackling both debt and the causes of poverty.

Read John's story here

CAP has been named Personal Debt Provider of the Year at the Turnaround, Restructuring & Insolvency (TRI) Awards 2017.

Having won the title of Insolvency Manager of the Year at last year's event, CAP was delighted to be shortlisted for another award and to attend the ceremony in London on Wednesday 17 October.

Members of CAP's Debt Operations team attended the event and were honoured, thanks to support from a judging panel of industry experts.

CAP's Head of Insolvency and Resolutions, Jonny Joslin, said, 'This award is a well deserved reflection of the amazing work all CAP's staff do within our Debt Operations teams. They work with compassion and expertise to see thousands of clients go debt free every year, and it is very encouraging to get this external recognition. It is our passion to provide the very best service we can to our clients, and we are excited to receive recognition of this through the award.'

A list of all the winners from the night can be found here.

CAP has today been officially authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA was given significant powers to regulate more than 50,000 consumer credit firms in 2014 when it took over from the Office of Fair Trading. Since this time, it has been progressing through this large number of companies and organisations, rigorously inspecting each one.

As the news was announced, CAP's CEO Matt Barlow said, 'We fully support the FCA in its mission to ensure best practice in the industry on behalf of the consumer. It has long been our goal to offer the very best service to some of the most vulnerable in our society and therefore, I’m delighted the FCA has given us this official authorisation.' 

Applicants each have to meet a range of requirements to receive authorisation with the FCA reviewing business plans, risks assessments, budgets, resources, systems, controls and whether key staff have the necessary qualifications, experience and ability to carry out their roles effectively. The FCA’s comprehensive process has been another step in CAP’s 21-year history that has seen the charity win multiple industry awards including Debt Advice Provider of the Year in 2015 and the Insolvency Team of the Year the previous year.