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All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance

About the Group

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance was established in 2003 to provide a forum for MPs and peers to discuss debt and personal finance issues, to monitor legislative developments in this area, and to provide an opportunity for liaison between Members and organisations with an interest in these issues.

The Group is chaired by Yvonne Fovargue MP and the other officers include: Nicholas Dakin MP, Mike Weir MP, Andrew George MP, and Damian Hinds MP. Recent meetings have covered issues such as fuel debt, future funding for the free debt advice sector and the regulation of fee charging debt management companies.

The Secretariat for the Group is provided by the Citizens Advice Public Affairs team, and funding for the Group’s activities is provided by the subscriptions levied on affiliate members.

Recent events

On Wednesday 12 October 2011 Consumer Affairs Minister joined parliamentary members of the APPG on Debt and Personal Finance to discuss debt remedies and insolvency. At the meeting, chaired by Yvonne Fovargue MP, the members discussed the Government’s response to the Consumer Credit and Personal Insolvency Review conducted by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and the Treasury, which was published in July.

One of the key outcomes of the review was the Government’s announcement that the Money Advice Service would conduct a review of debt advice funding. The Minister said his objectives for this review were to ensure that brand awareness of free debt advice providers should be very strong and the free debt advice sector should have enough capacity to provide advice to those who need it, when they need it. Once the Money Advice Service has published its interim report the Minister agreed to meet again with the group to discuss its findings.

APPG meeting 12 October 2011

The Minister went on to say that he recognised and shared many of the concerns which had been raised about fee charging debt management companies providing poor quality advice and charging excessive fees. He pointed out that the Government would not move quickly to regulate any industry but he supported proposals to force fee charging companies to include information about how to access free advice in all of their advertising materials. He called on members of the group to support Yvonne Fovargue’s Ten Minute Rule Motion that leave be given to bring in a Bill to require fee charging debt management companies to inform potential clients of the availability of free advice on debt management on 19 October.

Frances Coulson, the President of R3, the insolvency trade body presented an insolvency map of the UK, which highlighted that debt insolvency is a huge problem in the North East and South West of England, as well as in many coastal resorts. She echoed the Ministers concerns about fee charging debt management companies saying they had been under regulated for too long.

Teresa Perchard, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Citizens Advice welcomed the Government’s commitments to ensuring that there is sustainable funding for debt advice and that undischarged bankrupts could access basic bank accounts and address the high cost of going bankrupt. However she said that the Government’s response to the review was not critical enough of the way in which the system for regulating consumer credit and consumer debt solutions worked effectively. With millions of people vulnerable to financial difficulty, the system would be unable to cope if interest rates go up, tipping them in to crisis she said.

Yvonne Fovargue pointed out that it takes the OFT two years to close down a credit provider or debt management company, even if they know they are causing widespread problems for consumers and there was a need for a tough regulator with the right tools and powers to stop rogue companies in their tracks.

Further details about the Group