Anne Snelgrove MP has welcomed news that the Government intend to legislate in order help the Credit Union financial sector grow and continue their work on bringing financial inclusion to the poorest in society.

Anne said: “After the collapse of Farepak the credit unions came to the rescue in Swindon. Now more than ever due to the tough situation in the international economy, we want to make it easier for people to access the affordable credit in their local area that is offered by Credit Unions, rather than having to turn to more expensive schemes, or at the extreme end, illegal loan sharks.”

Key Facts

• The Labour Government is committed to financial inclusion and a flexible approach in how to achieve this through different financial service models.

·         Credit Unions, because of their unique localised structure, often provides finance to those who can not find it elsewhere, in hard to reach communities or to those with a poor credit history or at risk from unethical loans, such as loan sharks.

·         There are around 530 Credit Unions in the UK with over 500,000 members.

·         Change is needed to update many laws governing Credit Unions to bring them up to date and in line with other financial sectors. The Government will bring forward legislation, in various forms, to help the sector grow even stronger and increase financial inclusion.

·         The changes have come about after listening to the Credit Union and mutual sector.