Balls: Financial exclusion fight will continue
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to fighting financial exclusion.Treasury minister Ed Balls is set to tell the Resolution Foundation conference later today that the forthcoming comprehensive spending review will maintain the £120 million funding level earmarked for financial inclusion initiatives.He will explain that although it has not yet been possible for current initiatives to be mainstreamed into "core departmental activities" this remains the government's long-term goal."We have a big challenge ahead of us… it is an issue not only of economic prosperity but of social justice," Mr Balls will say."The government wants to see everyone have access to appropriate financial products, and the confidence and capability to use them to make a positive difference to their lives."The Treasury is leading a drive to recruit money advisers, tackle loan sharks and work with credit unions to reduce the numbers of those remaining outside the financial norm.With nearly one in ten households not having access to a bank account the problem, according to Mr Balls, is a pressing one."Tackling financial exclusion and spreading financial capability is essential for both our economic prosperity and for social justice," he will say."It is good both for individuals and for society and the economy as a whole."The government was today criticised over a key pillar of its anti-social exclusion strategy, however.Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson David Laws attacked the tax credits system, saying it was causing financial hardship rather than mitigating it."Rather than taking the necessary steps to reform the tax credit system, the government is pushing ever more families into poverty by demanding back tax credit overpayments even when these were caused by Inland Revenue mistakes," he said."30,000 letters were sent out in January demanding repayment of tax credits in as little as three days, but people could not appeal because the phone lines were constantly engaged."
Share this..
Related stories
Airline industry under more pressure
In an amazing development bookmaker Paddy Power has begun to take bets on which airline will be next to fall by the wayside. The well-known bookmaker has slashed the odds on Monarch, a privately owned Swiss airline, from 50/1 to 4/1 making it the favourite to fall by the wayside in the short term. However, the company has denied any financial trouble and criticised Paddy Power for running a book o...
Read MoreUK government warned about budget deficit
The UK government has today received a stark warning from ratings agency Fitch with a suggestion that the UK credit rating is the one most at risk amongst the top rated countries in the world. Again, the UK budget deficit is coming under scrutiny with expectations that the £175 billion forecast will prove to be conservative and the figure could well nudge towards the £200 billion barrier. So wha...
Read MoreUS authorities desperate to support the dollar
Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, has this evening thrown his support behind the US currency in a rare vote of confidence from the Federal Reserve. The US government appears desperate to support the greenback which has now fallen to a 15 month low on the currency exchanges and is under constant pressure. While would expect the Federal Reserve to comment upon the currency at regular inter...
Read MoreGoldman Sachs defends bonus levels
As we covered in one of our recent post, Goldman Sachs recently announced impressive profits and millions upon millions of pounds put aside for bonus payments. The company has since been under pressure for from governments around the world and has this weekend come out fighting with a suggestion that the level of bonuses allocated to certain members of staff are a sign of recovery and should be ta...
Read MoreWill companies take advantage of the stock market rise?
Barratt Developments is set to launch a £700 million fund raising exercise, the funds from which will be used to shore up the company's balance sheet. There are also rumours that rival housebuilder Redrow is also considering such a move at a time when share prices have remained fairly buoyant despite the fact that underlying balance sheets and in some cases trading is still very difficult.
...