Working in Partnership to Combat Financial Exclusion
Many people
in Leicester, particularly those living on low incomes, cannot access mainstream financial products such as bank accounts
and low cost loans – and especially free face to face debt advice.
This financial exclusion imposes real costs on individuals and their families – often the most vulnerable
people in our society. It also has costs for the communities in which they live.
The Community Law Service is at the forefront of a
new initiative – the East Midlands Money Advice (EMMA) project – that is designed to reduce debt and financial
exclusion across the whole of the East Midlands region.
The EMMA partnership has the primary objective of increasing the availability of
free debt advice services across the East Midlands region, targeting individuals who are excluded from mainstream financial
services such as bank accounts and affordable credit. It is one of sixteen national projects established under the Financial
Inclusion Fund Face to Face Advice initiative. To date the project funding has been used to recruit, train and deploy 50 new
debt advisers across the region, making a significant increase in capacity to the current level of debt advice services available.
With
ongoing funding now confirmed up to March 2011, advisers employed under the EMMA Partnership will be providing free face
to face debt advice services to over 7,500 new clients each and every year.
More
information about the East Midlands Money Advice initiative can be found at www.emmapartnership.org.uk
