Policy and Government

Last week we took part in Talk Money Week, designed to place emphasis on talking about money. This is part of the Money Advice Service (MAS) Financial Capability Strategy for the UK. We attended the joint MAS and Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) conference and have been promoting our CAP Money and CAP Life Skills courses across the country. Check out our blog here, looking at why it's good to #TalkMoney.

CAP broadly supports Ofgem's design and methodology proposed for the default tariff cap, but although it will offer universal price protection to all, many will not see a material benefit. This is especially true of those consumers who use little energy because they cannot afford it, who will see little to no reduction in their bills. 42% of CAP clients cannot afford to sufficiently heat their homes and as a result we feel that a price cap is not the right vehicle to address this deeper affordability issue. Consideration and a deeper intervention is needed for those on low incomes who struggle to afford their energy bills. To read our full response, click below.

Today Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has launched the findings of London School of Economics (LSE) Housing and Communities' twelve-month research project detailing CAP’s Social Return of Investment. LSE’s research concludes that CAP’s approach is more intensive, personal and holistic than most approaches to poverty relief. For every £1 invested, CAP delivers £3.60 of social benefits. Read the full report and summary report here.

CAP has responded to the FCA’s consultation on overdrafts, as part of their wider high-cost credit review. We welcome the focus on overdrafts, as this is an area of harm for many of CAP’s clients. The draft rules propose to reduce harm through building awareness and engagement in the market. We welcomed the ideas of online eligibility tools and charges calculators, but were concerned that this would not help those digitally excluded. We also fed into how the FCA plan to tackle complex pricing structures and high fees and charges. To read more, click below. 

CAP has responded to the FCA’s latest consultation part of their high-cost credit review. In this consultation we welcomed the broad scope for the review across the high-cost, short-term credit (HCSTC) market, helping to bring consistency across these credit products. We felt that many of the proposed remedies were proportionate and appropriate, but did have concerns that some may be challenging to operationalise in practice. See our full response below.