Money and Pensions Service under siege from debt advice collective over botched commissioning
A collective of debt advice agencies, under the banner We Are Debt Advisers (WADA), has been celebrating a partial victory in its campaign to derail the Money and Pensions Service’s (MaPS) commissioning of debt advice in the new financial year.
New funding for debt advice services was due to commence from July 2022, after an extension to services earmarked to end in March, but lobbyists called for plans to be scrapped, claiming they would disinvest budgets for face-to-face service in favour of phone-based and online access. They also argued a lack of consultation and disorganised timescales had caused mass uncertainty about services’ futures and a lack of continuity from the end of previous funding and the commissions. But in February, MaPS gave in to pressure and confirmed contracts would be extended for a further ten months.
In an open letter published in January to John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, WADA stated:
“If the procurement of the national and Debt Relief Order ‘hubs’ proceeds, as MaPS intends, this will dramatically reduce the capacity of community-based services, which provide advice and casework support to vulnerable clients. This will take place at a time when the need for community-based debt advice is rising and will undoubtedly have negative knock-on effects for local authorities and health services.
“Community-based services are much better placed to link people with complex problems to other forms of support alongside debt advice, to address housing, benefits, and a wide range of other issues which lie beneath their presenting debt problem.
“MaPS is proposing to cut funding for this essential community-based provision by around 50%. This is despite Government providing it with a larger overall budget for debt advice. We urge you to act now to prevent this.”
‘It’s not easy to make a u-turn’
On 14 February, MaPS confirmed it would postpone recommissioning until the end of March 2023 while it undertakes consultation on the new services.
In response, Helen Undy, Chief Exec at Money and Mental Health, published a statement supporting the announcement:
“The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) today increased the funding available for face to face services by 50% (to £30m), safeguarding these vital services which can be a particular lifeline for people with mental health problems who can struggle to access telephone or online debt advice. These services will be particularly vital amidst the current cost of living crisis, with energy and other household bills soaring and an anticipated rise in demand for debt help.
“It’s not easy to make a u-turn, so we’re grateful that MaPS has listened and is learning from this process, and to all the #SaveDebtAdvice campaigners for their hard work.”
While those fighting against MaPS’ plans have managed a high-profile #SaveDebtAdvice campaign, MaPS themselves and national charities operating phone and online debt services have been notably quiet.
‘Change for good’
In a blog for Legal Action Magazine, representatives of We Are Debt Advice, Tom Barrett (West Midlands representative for the Institute of Money Advisers) and Amy Taylor (Greater Manchester Money Advice Group – founders of We Are Debt Advisers UK), argued the former funding regime inherited from the Money Advice Service (MAS), (predecessor to the Money and Pensions Service), had led some debt advice agencies to claim hollow victories. “Working under a MAS contract became a transactional numbers game, with targets only achievable if very little casework was carried out for clients.” National charities ‘boasted’ of numbers with little regard for achieving meaningful outcomes, they said.
Now WADA says MaPS should be “changed for good”. This month they joined forces with the Unite Debt Advisers Network (UDAN) to demand that MaPS engages in a “full and meaningful consultation” on the future of advice.
The groups went on to say that MaPS needed to respond to their 14 demands if it wants to win back trust.
WADA also wants to see the immediate publication of the terms of the forthcoming contract extensions. And they are demanding MaPS conduct a review into the failed commissioning process “with evidence sought from agencies concerning the impacts that this ill-fated adventure has had on their services and staff”.
