1. business and industrial
2. business operations
3. business plans

2014/15
Business Plan
2 Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2013/14
Contents
Chairman’s foreword
3
Chief Executive’s foreword
4
2014/15 Business Plan Highlights
5
Chapter 1 - Introduction to
the Money Advice Service 6
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
10
Chapter 3 - Focus on 2014/15: Our strategic themes 16
Chapter 4 - Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real impact on people’s lives
21
Chapter 5 - Theme 2: Improving access to high
quality debt advice for over-indebted people
26
Chapter 6 - Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to
improve people’s financial capability
31
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service and
measuring our impact
36
Chapter 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
44
Chapter 9 - Responses to the public consultation
and changes to the draft Business Plan
50
Northern Ireland - Business Plan Appendix54
Scotland - Business Plan Appendix 57
Wales - Business Plan Appendix
60
moneyadviceservice.org.uk
2
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chairman’s foreword
3
Chairman’s foreword
This is the first Money Advice Service Business Plan I have overseen as
Chairman of the Service. I am delighted to be chairing an organisation that
is so important to people’s lives and has such a big job to do.
Although there are encouraging signs that the economy has turned a corner, it is likely to
continue to be tough for very many people. With more than half the population saying they
are struggling to make ends meet, there is a significant need for people to have access to
free, impartial advice about how to handle their money better so they can look after
themselves and their families. The Money Advice Service exists to meet that need.
We are very conscious that we cannot do this on our own. We need to work in partnership
with a wide range of organisations – central and local government, financial services firms,
charities, voluntary groups and a host of others – to reach out to our customers and deliver
the advice and support they need.
This partnership model has been at the heart of the Service’s work and will continue to be
in the year to come. We will be looking to build new and stronger partnerships, exploring as
many channels as we can, so that as many people as possible are getting the full benefit of
the services we and our partners provide.
Getting good advice on how to manage your money – and acting on it – can be a
transformative experience. The sense of being in control, having a plan and taking action to
turn that plan into a reality, is as important to people’s well-being as the numbers on their
bank balance. Our service gives people a wide range of helpful tools and information – but it
also aims to provide the support and encouragement people need to take what are often
difficult steps to take control of their money.
That is why it is particularly gratifying that so many of our customers tell us that the service
we have given them has helped them decide on a course of action, that they would
recommend us to others, and that they will return to us again themselves. And it is why
I believe it is right that we are continuing to set ourselves challenging targets around
customer satisfaction and how our service is changing people’s behaviours.
It is important too that the Service should seek to identify how best to make a difference
and focus on interventions which work. To that end, a major priority for next year is
continuing the work which will lead to the publication of A Financial Capability Strategy for
the UK. This is a great example of the Service using its unique insight and experience to
lead a wider collaborative process, bringing together contributions from a wide range of
stakeholders and partners.
The Service has made great progress in the last year, reaching more people than ever
before and beginning to make a real impact. It was encouraging to see the National Audit
Office’s verdict that our debt advice work was providing value for money and that on money
advice, we were moving in the right direction. I am confident that with this plan, the Service
can continue its positive direction of travel and begin to deliver that step-change in money
management skills we all want to see.
Andy Briscoe
Chairman,
Money Advice Service
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chief Executive’s foreword
4
Chief Executive’s
foreword
The Money Advice Service is about helping people change their lives by
managing their money better.
Looking back over my first full year with the Service, it has been a period of steady progress
in achieving that aim. By working with a wide range of partners, we’ve been able to reach
more people than ever before – we are averaging 1.3 million customer contacts every
month in 2013/14 - and help them to take control of their finances.
When people come into contact with the Service – whether it is online or talking to an
adviser on the phone, via web-chat or face-to-face – we want to give them what they need
to make the right decisions for themselves and their families and point them in the right
direction to take the next steps. With 75 per cent of our customers saying we have helped
them decide on a course of action, we’re already getting the message through.
As the largest funder of debt advice in the UK we are also supporting our partners in
delivering more than 3,000 debt advice sessions a week to people in England and Wales.
Since we took responsibility for funding and co-ordination of debt advice, our partners have
delivered 50 per cent more advice sessions – at no extra cost and whilst maintaining the
same high standards.
But we know we need to do much more. Our research last year, The Financial Capability
of the UK, highlighted the scale of the challenge. People of all ages and backgrounds
are struggling to make ends meet and failing to save regularly. And of the 9 million
over-indebted people in the UK, fewer than one-fifth are receiving the debt advice that
could help turn their lives around.
In short, there are still way too many people who could benefit from our help, not getting the
advice they need to make a real difference to their lives.
We want to change that – to make seeking advice about money a normal part of life.
Building on the solid foundations laid this year, we’ve developed an ambitious set of
performance indicators for the year to come – indicators which set out to measure the
impact our service is having on people’s lives. We want to get many more people to stop,
think and engage with their money on a regular basis. The plan sets out how we intend to
make that aim a reality. The indicators will show how successful we are.
One of the most heartening aspects of the past year has been to find such a strong appetite
from a range of stakeholders for working with us. The development of A Financial Capability
Strategy for the UK, to be published later this year, is a case in point – a genuinely
collaborative process involving a large number of organisations who share our vision of
improving the nation’s financial well-being.
I would like to thank all the organisations and individuals who have helped us develop this
plan and particularly those who took the time to respond to the consultation. In the coming
year, we will be looking to establish relationships with a host of new partners, and work ever
more closely with existing ones, so that we can reach out to more and more people.
This plan points the way to doing just that.
Caroline Rookes
Chief Executive,
Money Advice Service
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
2014/15 Business Plan Highlights
2014/15 Business
Plan Highlights
This year’s business plan is designed to build upon the achievements of the
past three years. It is a plan with partnership at its heart, based around
evaluation and service improvement, and making a real difference to
people’s lives.
During 2014/15 we will:
Continue to deliver a highly effective service, making a real impact on people’s lives – by:
Extending
the reach of our free and impartial money advice, with the aim of 16 million
customer contacts to the Service.
Stepping
up efforts to stop people when they are going about their daily business,
getting them to think about their money and taking action to improve their finances; our
target is for 4.5 million positive actions to be taken by people after coming to the Service.
Helping
customers to get advice from regulated advisers or elsewhere, if we are unable
to provide it ourselves.
Improve access to high quality debt advice for over-indebted people – by:
Introducing
new three year funding arrangements in England and Wales. We will
increase the funding for debt advice in England and Wales by £3.6m to enable more
people to access the advice they need.
Working
with the debt sector to ensure that advice is provided where there are gaps, to
get advice to those who need it most and to ensure that people are able to access
advice in the way that best suits their needs.
Integrating
financial capability into debt advice to give people the skills and knowledge
to reduce the risk of falling into unmanageable debt.
Drive the wider agenda to improve people’s financial capability – by:
Developing
and delivering the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK in collaboration
with stakeholders.
Enhancing
the evaluation of our Service and other financial capability initiatives to
understand what really works in changing people’s financial behaviours.
Continuing
our innovative customer insight and research programme and sharing this
insight with others.
Through this, we hope to take further steps towards our ultimate goals of more people
accessing money and debt advice, more people managing their money better, fewer
people in debt, and a UK which is more financially capable.
5
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
6
Chapter 1
Introduction to
the Money
Advice Service
What our customers say
“Excellent. They knew their stuff and they
were very knowledgeable. It is nice to know
that there are people on hand to help people
in desperate need. Credit to the service.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 1 - Introduction to
the Money Advice Service
Our roles and ambition for the future
The Money Advice Service exists to change people’s lives, by helping them
make the most of their money, both through our own Service and by working
with others.
We know that the need for free, unbiased money advice is growing across the UK: in 2013
over half of UK adults struggled to keep up with their bills and credit commitments,
compared to just over a third in 2006.1 Around 9 million people in the UK are over-indebted2
and less than a fifth of these people are currently accessing advice to help manage
their debts.3
We also know that the need for money advice is not equal across the population – some
groups of people struggle with their finances more than others. This could be because they
have a limited income, because they are financially excluded, or because they lack the skills
and knowledge to manage their money well. So, whilst our Service is for everyone, there are
some people who would benefit from our help more than others.
We aim to meet this need by fulfilling three key roles:
First,
we provide people with generic information about money matters – covering a
wide range of issues and life events – and we help them take action to better manage
their finances so that they can manage day-to-day, cope with financial shocks, and
achieve their life goals. We do this directly, primarily on the web, but also over the phone
and face-to-face, and in partnership with other organisations.
Second,
we help people who are facing unmanageable debt get their finances back in
order. We do this by funding a proportion of free debt advice in England and Wales,
co-funding programmes in partnership with the governments of Scotland and Northern
Ireland, and by coordinating efforts across the debt advice sector to improve the quality,
consistency and availability of debt advice.
Third,
we are a leader and influencer beyond our own Service. We coordinate and
facilitate the improvement of the financial capability landscape across the UK by working
closely with stakeholders to agree priorities and action plans. We share insight and
research about how best to help individuals improve their money management with
other organisations, including government, the financial services industry, other advice
providers and consumer and education groups.
1
p.10, The Financial Capability of the UK, Money Advice Service, 2013.
2
hese are individuals who have been behind with their bills in three months of the last six, or have said that they
T
feel their debts are a heavy burden.
3
p.3, Indebted Lives: The Complexities of Life in Debt, Money Advice Service, 2013.
7
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 1 - Introduction to
the Money Advice Service
In fulfilling these three roles, it is important that we complement the work of other
organisations. We will work with the financial adviser community to make sure that
customers who need regulated financial advice are directed to the right part of the
financial services system at the right time. We also want to make sure that we avoid
duplicating the content and services provided by other advice organisations, whilst
maintaining a coherent source of advice, only creating content or delivering services where
there is a gap or unmet customer need. For example, we provide comparison tables on
financial products like mortgages because we believe there is a need for an independent
and whole-of-market summary.
Our ambition for the future is to be highly effective across our three roles and, through this,
contribute to improving the overall financial capability of the UK.
In the future, we want to see:
nnfewer people becoming over-indebted
nnmore people keeping track of their finances and budgeting to achieve life goals
nnmore people planning ahead for their retirement
nnmore people being financially resilient by protecting themselves and their assets
What is financial capability?
We have worked with stakeholders across the sector to define financial
capability. A financially capable person is someone who keeps track
of their money, plans ahead, and is able to make informed decisions
about their finances, understanding the risks and benefits of
particular options.
We know that financial capability is underpinned by the right skills,
knowledge, attitudes, motivations and opportunities. We also know
that there are close links between financial capability and numeracy.
These are ambitions that the Money Advice Service cannot achieve on its own. They are
influenced by a range of factors: both external (economic and regulatory), and internal
(personal circumstance, skills, attitudes, motivations). No one organisation can influence all
of these factors. Therefore, improving the financial capability of the UK requires close
collaboration between all stakeholders.
To support this collaboration, the Money Advice Service is working with stakeholders to
develop and deliver A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK (referred to in this
Business Plan as “the UK Strategy”). This is a strategy for the whole of the UK, owned by
stakeholders across the advice landscape. The Service will coordinate the development of
the UK Strategy and work with stakeholders to deliver a comprehensive understanding of
financial capability initiatives, what is effective and what isn’t, shared priorities for action and
a common evaluation framework.
8
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 1 - Introduction to
the Money Advice Service
As part of the UK Strategy, the Service will continue to monitor the financial capability of the
UK, as well as that of our own customer base. In 2013 we developed five key indicators of
basic money management: saving regularly, managing debt, protecting dependents,
protecting assets and saving for retirement. We are currently tracking how many times the
Service has helped people take any of these basic steps, as well as tracking the UK
population’s behaviour against these five indicators. We will add ‘basic budgeting’ to this
list, and continue to refine these indicators going forward.
The three roles described in this chapter reflect a more mature service. The first three years
of our operation involved building an advice model and the means to deliver it, making
people aware of our free and impartial service, and crucially in 2012, taking on the
responsibility for coordinating debt advice in the UK. We have now reached a point in the
evolution of the organisation where we will focus on further refining our offer to really
change people’s financial behaviours.
Our Business Plan for 2014/15 sets out how we will be more effective and efficient across
our three core roles, to deliver a more engaging service for customers, based on deeper
evaluation of what we do and further collaboration with stakeholders.
Our statutory objectives
The Money Advice Service exists to help people in the UK to understand financial
matters and better manage their money. This purpose is set out in the Financial
Services Act 2012, which outlines our three core objectives:
Improving
people’s understanding and knowledge of financial matters
Improving
people’s ability to manage their own financial affairs
Assisting
members of the public with management of debt with a view to improving
the availability, quality and consistency of debt advice services across the UK.
The advice that we give to our customers is generic and intended to improve people’s
basic skills and knowledge, as well as inform their attitudes and motivations to make
good decisions about their money. Our advice is not regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) and if a customer needs to access money advice on a topic
that is regulated by the FCA, we set out when and how they should do this.
We operate across the whole of the UK and recognise that the role of the Service must
be consistent with and complement the Programmes for Government in Wales,
Northern Ireland, and Scotland. We will continue to work closely with the devolved
nations and regional authorities to ensure that we support their work and that we
respond to local issues in designing and delivering our service.
9
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
10
Chapter 2
A look back at 2013/14
What our customers say
“Can I just say the planner is amazing!
It’s brought our spending under control and
reduced stress levels. I’ve recommended it to
friends. Well done to the people who created
it, as it’s very thorough. Love it!”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
This chapter looks at the experiences of 2013/14 and the delivery of our
previous business plan, to draw out key lessons for developing the Service
further in 2014/15. A fuller update on our progress and our final year figures
will be published in July, as part of our Annual Review.
Overall, we believe the Service has made good progress against the strategic themes set
out in the 2013/14 business plan.
Strategic theme 1: Giving advice and empowering people to take action, on
our own and with others
nnMore people have used the Service than ever before, due to targeted campaigns and
increased awareness of the Service. We have averaged approximately 1.3 million visits to
the website a month in 2013/14 so far – we anticipate about 16 million contacts to the
Service in total in 2013/14. Just over 185,000 people have used our telephone, web-chat
and face-to-face money advice services.
nn349,000 basic money steps were taken by customers as a result of the Service in the first
half of 2013/14 – these steps included managing debt, saving regularly, saving for
retirement, protecting assets and providing for dependents.
nnWe have engaged with over 150 organisations. Forty organisations from across financial
services, private sector, third sector, and government have syndicated our tools and
content. We have developed links with key referrers, including Gov.uk, retail banks,
supermarkets, parenting websites and many other organisations.
nnThe table below gives an overview of our to date performance against our 2013/14 key
performance indicator targets.
4
Key Performance Indicator
2013/14 Target
2013/14 Performance
to end of February
Total customer contacts
5.45 million
14,438,904
Positive outcomes across
five key outcomes
480,000
349,0004
Budget planner completions
200,000
243,870
% of customers who agree they have
been provided with the information
they required
82%
85% (YTD) / 84% (Feb)
% of customers who agree we have
70%
helped them decide on a course of action
73% (YTD) / 70% (Feb)
% of customers who agree that they will
revisit the Money Advice Service
88%
92% (YTD) / 93% (Feb)
% of customers who would recommend
the Money Advice Service
85%
90% (YTD) / 88% (Feb)
This figure is for April 2013 - September 2013 only.
11
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
Strategic theme 2: Improving the quality, consistency and availability of debt
advice services across the UK
nnWe have helped over 150,000 people in crisis debt in England and Wales receive high
quality debt advice this year. We also provide funding in Scotland and Northern Ireland,
through partnerships with their governments, to support people who are over-indebted.
nnWorking with the sector, we have agreed and implemented a new framework which sets
a quality standard for debt advice delivery at organisational and individual level (the
quality framework). Organisations and advisers are able to have their quality standards
and membership codes accredited against this framework.
nnWe developed and published a new evaluation framework to measure the effectiveness
of debt advice provided both by those organisations that we fund and by the wider
sector. The framework was developed through primary research with over-indebted
people, through testing with the advice sector, and expert input from Bristol University.
It will give a much richer picture of the effectiveness of debt advice sessions.
nnWe introduced a new stream of funding via the Scottish Legal Aid Board to promote debt
advice for particularly marginalised groups. This has resulted in partnerships with new
organisations such as Scottish Women’s Aid, Shelter Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow
and Deaf Action Scotland. Based on the successful development of this programme, the
Scottish Government have decided to invest further funds to expand its reach.
nnWe published research setting out the different attitudes, behaviours, and needs of the
over-indebted population in the UK (referred to in this document as our ‘customer
segmentation research’).
12
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
Strategic theme 3: Equipping young people with the skills, attitudes and
behaviour to manage their money more effectively
nnWe published research into the financial capability of 15–17 year olds. This research
showed that the biggest influence on young people and their spending habits is their
parents and that they will emulate their parents’ money behaviour – good and bad.
nnWe published research into the formation of money habits in young children. This
research showed that money habits are formed at a very young age, and modelled
primarily on the behaviour of parents. As a result of these insights, we have produced
content and videos for parents to help them teach their children good money habits.
nnWe have conducted research into the financial regrets of those in their 20s and the impact
of peer advice. This research will be published in the first half of 2014.
nnWe produced specific tools and content for young people – including new saving and
sensible borrowing mobile phone apps co-created with young people which will launch
in the first quarter of 2014/15; we also developed a ‘money tips for graduates’ tool and a
number of videos where young people talk about their first financial decisions.
nnWe have developed a young people and parenting hub containing all our research,
content, advice and videos so that parents can easily access all our resources in one
place, and we will launch this in the first quarter of 2014/15.
nnWe have produced a financial capability toolkit for youth practitioners to use with ‘at risk’
groups of young people.
nnThrough the UK Strategy we have identified and mapped gaps in financial education
provision. We will continue to work with stakeholders over the next year to ensure these
gaps are addressed.
nnIn the 2013/14 plan, we said that we would develop a code of practice for financial
capability programmes for young people, to help providers align their programmes with
need, and use best-practice interventions. However, in light of the UK Strategy, we have
reframed this particular piece of work and incorporated it into the wider evaluation
framework that will be developed for all financial capability programmes.
13
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
Strategic theme 4: Influencing the financial capability landscape
nnWe commenced the biggest and deepest study of financial capability in the UK,
publishing a new baseline of UK financial capability in August, which we will continue
tracking in 2014/15.
nnWe commenced development of ‘A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK’.
This strategy aims to increase the financial resilience of the UK population by improving
individuals’ financial capability. We define financial capability as the ability to plan ahead,
make ends meet and make informed decisions. Importantly, the strategy will prioritise
groups who are at a higher risk of detriment because of low financial capability.
nnA key starting point for the strategy in 2013/14 was bringing together as many
organisations as possible with an interest in this area. We have created appropriate
governance structures, overseen by a steering group of stakeholders, and enabling us to
support a cohort approach to the Strategy – key groups of stakeholders will look at the
needs of different age groups.
nnThis cohort approach led to the creation of three working groups, involving stakeholders
from across the financial services, government and the advice sector, to address the
needs of young people, working age people and older people. These groups have
started to analyse the evidence base, which will inform which priority areas the strategy
will focus on.
Organisational culture
In 2013/14, we developed and embedded new organisational values. These values
describe the principles that underpin our business decisions, the way the organisation
operates and the capabilities that are promoted, recognised and valued by
the Money Advice Service.
Our values are about being:
nnCustomer focused: enabling and empowering customers to take action
nnCollaborative: working constructively with others to deliver positive outcomes for people
nnPassionate: work characterised by commitment, care and enthusiasm
nnOpen: honest, straightforward, trusting and trustworthy
nnListening and Learning: always seeking to understand, improve
and innovate
In 2013/14 these new values have influenced both our internal and external approaches,
creating a strong customer-centric organisational culture, and forging good relationships
with a wide stakeholder network.
The values will continue to underpin how we operate in 2014/15.
14
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 2 - A look back at 2013/14
Key reflections on 2013/14
We want to build on the achievements of 2013/14 and help even more people manage their
money better. We expect more people to contact the Service in the future, particularly via
our website. Our focus must be on making these visits more engaging and more useful for
people, so that customers go away with a real understanding and confidence about what
to do next.
Developing effective partnerships was a big theme for us in 2013/14. We have made
connections with a wide range of organisations, and will strengthen these and build new
relationships in the coming year.
A key way to make the Service more useful and engaging for people is through careful
evaluation of our content and tools. Whilst we already survey customer satisfaction, we
want to undertake a much more rigorous evaluation of what does and doesn’t work to help
someone make a positive decision about their money. This insight will be valuable for
stakeholders and the wider advice sector, as well as for the Service.
Over the last year, we have learnt that evidence around successful intervention
programmes to improve people’s financial capability is lacking. We intend to gather more
evidence through the development of the UK Strategy.
Another key lesson we have learnt is that there is an appetite for more collaborative working
across government, the financial services industry, the voluntary sector and the advice
sector. The UK Strategy will play a key role in helping to identify priority areas for action and
set out a plan for the next few years.
In December 2013, the House of Commons Treasury Sub Committee (TSC) and National
Audit Office (NAO) published reports on the Service.
The NAO report looked at the Service’s value for money and concluded that the Service
delivers value for money on our debt advice work, and is heading in the right direction on
money advice. Encouragingly, the NAO’s recommendations cover activities which are
already underway, or planned for 2014/15 and beyond. This includes a new evaluation
framework for the Service, focusing on the impact we have on customers.
The main recommendation of the TSC was to bring forward the planned review of the
Money Advice Service. This will happen during 2014/15. In a number of areas, we have
already taken on board the TSC’s views and we will continue to reflect on what more we
can do.
The following chapter outlines our key priorities and work for 2014/15, and the strategic
themes that will frame this work.
15
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
16
Chapter 3
Focus on 2014/15:
Our strategic themes
What our customers say
“I was given advice I couldn’t get
from anywhere else.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 3 - Focus on 2014/15:
Our strategy themes
Our strategic direction in 2014/15 is a consolidation and evolution of last
year’s business plan.
We have drawn out three strategic themes to help shape our business and set our
objectives, activities, and key performance indicators in 2014/15:
Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective service, making a real impact on people’s lives
Theme 2: Improving access to high quality debt advice for over-indebted people
Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to improve people’s financial capability
What do these strategic themes mean we will do in 2014/15?
Strategic theme 1: Deliver a highly effective service,
making a real impact on people’s lives
We will engage with the UK population in a way that makes seeking
money advice the normal thing to do. We will enhance our impact
by focussing on providing more people with the help they need,
when they need it, and supporting them to take action, be that on the
phone, face-to-face, or online.
We will do this through our own Service, and through others, either
in partnership or through referrals. This means not just waiting for
people to come to our Service, but getting more people to stop, think,
and engage with their money as they go about their daily routine.
We will also evaluate the Service to understand what does and
doesn’t work, and make improvements so we are more engaging
and help more people take action. We will seek the views of expert
researchers to help us evaluate the Service. We will continuously
improve our tools and content based on this insight.
17
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 3 - Focus on 2014/15:
Our strategy themes
Strategic theme 2: Improving access to high quality debt
advice for over-indebted people
We will aim to increase the number of people taking action after
receiving high quality debt advice through our funded projects and
work to improve the overall quality of debt advice across the sector.
We will implement new three-year funding agreements with
providers in England and Wales, based on a range of principles aimed
at improving the quality, consistency and availability of debt advice.
As part of this we will ask the providers to guide people to the most
appropriate channel for their needs, so that face-to-face advice is
available for vulnerable customers who would most benefit from
this channel.
We will also work with other funders to improve the supply and
uptake of quality debt advice across the whole sector, promoting
consistent processes and evaluation. We will do more to link up our
debt advice work with efforts to increase the general population’s
financial capability – helping to reduce the risk of more people
becoming over-indebted.
Strategic theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to improve
people’s financial capability
We will do more to help people manage their money better, across the
UK, by collaborating with and supporting other organisations to boost
people’s financial capability.
A key driver to support other organisations and boost financial
capability is ‘A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK’, which we will
coordinate, but which will be co-created and owned by organisations
across the sector. Through the UK Strategy, the Service will work with
stakeholders to understand the needs of different groups, existing
interventions, gaps in provisions, and collectively agree priorities for
action. Alongside this, the Service will deliver a framework for
evaluating financial capability programmes.
Our research and customer insight will also serve to drive the
debate about what everyone (advice providers, the financial services
industry, regulators and government) can do to improve people’s
financial capability.
18
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 3 - Focus on 2014/15:
Our strategy themes
Our target audience and vulnerable people
We want to ensure that people who are at most risk of detriment as a result of poor financial
capability, or people who are financially marginalised, get the support they need. In the
2013/14 plan, we identified a target audience – 10.2 million people, not taking action against
four out of five outcomes of managing debt well, saving regularly, saving for retirement,
protecting your assets and providing for your dependents. These people need help to
better manage their money and this group remains relevant in 2014/15 in helping us target
and reach people who will benefit from our Service.
We want to continue to develop our understanding of groups in the population that may be
most at risk of detriment, as a result of poor financial capability. Within the UK Strategy, we
will be working with the sector to understand the advice needs of the population, the
detriments if these are not met, and the groups who would benefit most from support. This
analysis will take into account existing financial capability interventions, identifying possible
gaps in provision, and recommending how organisations (including the Money Advice
Service) might improve coordination and address gaps in provision. We will also be looking
at how we can continue to support vulnerable people, both through our Service, and in
partnership with other organisations.
Young people
In last year’s plan, we highlighted young people as a distinct group to help. We have
decided not to treat young people separately this year. Instead, this year’s business plan
includes our activities to support young people under each of the strategic themes. Young
people remain a priority for the Service.
As part of the UK Strategy, we are working closely with the sector to identify and agree
priorities for supporting young people, gaps in existing provision, and how we will
collectively address these. We will add value to the work which is already happening, by
helping to coordinate resources to target need, and by developing a better evaluation
framework so that best practice can be shared more widely.
19
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 3 - Focus on 2014/15:
Our strategy themes
Priorities for the Service in the devolved nations
Across all these themes, it remains a priority for the Service to work closely with the
devolved nations in 2014/15. The Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales governments
all have distinct Programmes for Government and policies around financial capability.
The Service has a dedicated manager in each of the nations to liaise with the
government, local authorities, advice organisations and representatives from industry
and third sector groups.
In 2014/15, our devolved nation managers will continue to work closely with key
departments within each government to support their respective financial capability
and inclusion agendas, and help ensure that people are supported to manage their
money throughout the introduction of major welfare reform. Our work with devolved
nations is explained in more detail in appendices at the end of this plan.
A few examples of our devolved nation-specific work include:
nnWorking with partners in Wales to deliver the outcomes within the Welsh
Government’s ’Tackling Poverty Programme’ and the implementation plan of the
Money Advice Service’s Wales Strategy.
nnSupporting the Scottish Government and Money Advice Scotland to develop a
Scottish National Standard for financial capability, and ensuring financial capability
underpins the Child Poverty Strategy.
nnContinue to work closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Investment to
support the Northern Ireland Executive’s Financial Capability Strategy.
The rest of this document sets out our objectives and initiatives across each of the
three themes and our Key Performance Indicator (KPI) framework to measure our
success. The plan concludes with a budget summary for 2014/15.
20
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
21
Chapter 4
Theme 1: Deliver a
highly effective service,
making a real impact
on people’s lives
Our objectives against this theme are to:
Help people stop and think about money,
making seeking advice a normal part of
everyday life
Reach and interrupt people at the right
time in the right place
Ensure people take action to manage
their money better
What our customers say
“Excellent. Very good information and
the way they dealt with me. It’s a bit
embarrassing when you have money
problems but they dealt with it
straight away.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 4 - Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real impact on people’s lives
This theme is about giving people the help they need to overcome their
financial inertia, engage with their money, and take steps towards positive
money management which will help prepare them for income shocks and
achieve their life goals.
We know there is a real need to help people – our recent Financial Capability research
showed that people are struggling to manage their finances. In 2006, a third of people were
struggling to pay bills on time and this has risen to over half in 2013. Over a third of
consumers in the UK sometimes or often run out of money. Overall, our research suggests
that people are focused on the here and now, rather than planning for the future, including
for unseen emergencies.5
We will continue to offer our free, impartial advice service across all our channels – through
our website, on mobile devices, face-to-face, phone, web-chat, and of course through our
partners, providing people with content and interactive tools on a diverse range of
money matters.
What will we do differently in 2014/15?
Our focus in 2014/15 will be on making seeking money advice a normal part of everyday life.
Our first objective against this theme is to get people to stop and think about their
money – this means prompting people everywhere to engage with financial matters which
they may otherwise feel uncomfortable about or may ignore. Money advice should be easy
to find, something that friends and family talk about, and an accepted part of everyday life.
A key lesson we have learnt about money advice, through our research, is that people often
know what they should do, but don’t act on this knowledge. This could be due to inertia or
uncertainty about what to do next. So, our second objective is to reach and interrupt
more people at the right time, and in the right place when they are most receptive to
advice about their money and will benefit from making the right decisions in the short term
and the long term.
Our research suggests that people are receptive to money advice when they are facing big
life events - such as buying a home, going through a divorce or separation or retiring. These
are also the times when there is a risk of financial detriment if people do not make the right
decisions. We want to reach out to people who are experiencing key life events, interrupt
their thinking at a timely moment, and prompt them to consider the implications of their
choices, including the benefits of seeking more information.
5
The Financial Capability of the UK, Money Advice Service, 2013.
22
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 4 - Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real impact on people’s lives
Our third objective in this theme is to help more people take action to manage their money
effectively. This is about helping people take positive steps to change their behaviour
towards their money. Basic money steps could include budgeting, reducing debt, saving
regularly, preparing for retirement, and preparing for possible financial shocks. We will
support this objective by enhancing our customers’ experiences – making sure we
quickly recognise their needs and preferences and direct them to the right information.
If customers need the help of another organisation or advice provider, we can refer them
onwards in the most effective way.
We will provide new step-by-step advice journeys for customers on the website for when
they face big financial events. The journeys will be designed to ‘coach’ customers through
significant events that have financial consequences. They will be interactive – customers
will be prompted to ask questions and will be led to the appropriate answer. The big life
events we will focus on in 2014/15 include buying a house, approaching retirement, and
separation or divorce. We will underpin this approach with deeper insight about
customer needs.
Finally, we will base our approach on thorough and continuous evaluation of the Service.
We will open up this evaluation process to our stakeholders – setting up a Research and
Evaluation Group REG of external experts to help us measure our success and apply
improvements to the Service to give customers the help they need.
Making a difference in 2013/14: Case study
Face-to-face advice - delivered through A4e,
South Shields
The client wanted to work part-time but was concerned about the effect
on his income. We discussed his circumstances—he’s 62 and lives
alone—and went through his income, expenditure and in-work costs
in detail.
We then discussed the client’s eligibility for working tax credits and
back-to-work help. Following this detailed review we worked out that
working for 16 hours a week would give him enough income.
We then called the Pensions Advisory Service to see if he was entitled to
pension credit, which he was. We also looked at other benefits he could
apply for. The client was delighted as he’d been struggling with his
finances for several years.
23
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 4 - Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real impact on people’s lives
24
S
trategic Objective: Help people stop and think about money, making
seeking advice a normal part of everyday life
How we will do it
What we will deliver - examples of initiatives
Engage with the UK public
on a subject which many
find intimidating, confusing
and unexciting
Maintain a stronger presence in people’s everyday lives through key campaigns
and other activities to engage people. The focus will be on helping people
understand why they should think about the benefits of engaging with their money.
Educate consumers on key
financial issues that could
impact them and give them
helpful information what
about to do next
Targeted activity to provide educational messages to people on specific consumer
issues – for example, helping people understand and manage their credit rating,
or encouraging people to build a savings buffer (save £3 a day) to cover
unexpected costs.
S
trategic Objective: Reach and interrupt people at the right time in the
right place
How we will do it
What we will deliver - examples of initiatives
Be present in people’s
everyday lives, directly and
through partners, providing
relevant advice to help
inform their money
decisions and drive
positive actions
Build on existing partnerships and form new partnerships – across charities,
government, financial and public sector organisations, to reach and help people at
key life events, for example: buying a home, taking a loan, claiming benefits,
starting a family.
Targeted activity, through partners and directly, to interrupt people, get people to
think about their finances and provide them with the advice they need. Key points
to target people are when:
nnThey are searching about financial matters or life events online: we will match
terms they search with money advice content.
nnThey receive correspondence about a financial product: we will provide printed
guides with relevant information. For example, letters from pension providers to
people considering retirement will include a guide from us.
nnThey are seeking new employment or thinking of claiming benefits: we will
provide printed guides in Jobcentre Plus.
nnFurther develop the ‘Partnerships self-service hub’ which allows other
organisations access to our content to embed relevant tools from our website
into their own service.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 4 - Theme 1: Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real impact on people’s lives
25
Strategic Objective: get people to take action to manage their money better
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Continue to enhance our
digital advice channels to
provide a more engaging
experience that makes
it easy for people to get
the help they want and
take action
Make the website more accessible on mobile devices like smartphones
and tablets.
Ensure that our offline
channels – face-to-face,
telephone and web-chat
– meet the needs of
our customers
Continue to maintain levels of high quality face-to-face, telephone and web-chat
services which meet demand and respond to specific needs of customers.
Maintain and evolve the Service’s action led content, tools, calculators and
comparison tables and develop new material, with input from stakeholders,
to meet changing demands.
An improved referral process from the Service to other sources of advice,
including regulated advice.
An improved strategy across channels: better integration of customer data across
all channels and smooth transition between online and offline services. At the
heart of this will be an enhanced Customer Relationship Management system that
will share customer information across all our services.
Improve integration and referrals between debt advice and money advice delivery
channels to ensure people are served by the right channel first time.
Develop engaging
step-by-step journeys
to guide people through
big financial decisions,
encouraging them to
take positive action
New online and interactive ‘life event’ journeys for customers to be taken through,
step-by-step, on the website. Topics we will cover in the first phase of this work
include: buying a house, facing divorce/separation and approaching retirement.
We will also support people through budgeting and saving for major expenses.
Build and maintain
customer relationships
so we are more timely in
responding to needs and
can help prompt people
to take positive actions
A more personalised relationship with customers through regular and relevant
communications such as newsletters, emails and prompts to encourage them to
take action.
Continuously improve our
Service through the use of
market and customer
insight to determine what
aspects of our service are
most effective in helping
people take action
Develop and implement a new evaluation strategy to measure the effectiveness
of our content and tools in helping people change their behaviour. This will involve
collecting and analysing more customer data to show what they are using, how
they are using it, and what is supporting people to take action.
New tools and content to support the life event journeys, including flagging where
individuals should seek professional financial advice or need to be aware of
legislative changes that could affect their decision.
An enhanced customer testing framework: a new panel of users to test tools, and
a new knowledge hub with detailed information about customer feedback.
Establish a Research and Evaluation Group. This group will bring together
academics and evaluation experts from across the sector to assess and improve
the way the Service is evaluating its success and turning this insight into a better
service for customers.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
26
Chapter 5
Theme 2: Improving
access to high quality
debt advice for
over-indebted people
Our objectives against this theme are to:
Increase the number of positive
outcomes for debt advice clients using
our funded projects
Increase uptake of high quality advice
across the sector and fulfil it with
available supply
Promote the use of preventive measures
to reduce levels of over-indebtedness
What our customers say
“I’m very pleased that I sought advice.
This sounds very strong but I do believe they
kind of saved my life. They didn’t save my
marriage which came hand in hand with
the debts but I do think they saved my life,
because I was on the edge when I
contacted them.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 5 - Theme 2: Improving access to high quality
debt advice for over-indebted people
This theme is about supporting more people with financial difficulties to
take control of their lives by helping them to manage their debts and
become more financially capable. To do this we will further enhance the
capabilities of our funded programmes, continue to coordinate positive
change across the sector, and help reduce over-indebtedness by focussing
on preventive measures.
In 2013/14, we have worked with the sector to develop new frameworks to improve the
quality of debt advice at both the individual and organisational level. In 2014/15, we will build
on this foundation, embedding these frameworks into our new funding arrangements and
promoting their adoption across the debt advice sector.
We will continue to fund the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to enable
them to finance and deliver a multi-channel debt advice service in Northern Ireland,
provided by Advice NI. We will also continue to work with our partners at the Scottish Legal
Aid Board to fund debt advice programmes in Scotland.
What will we do differently in 2014/15?
The biggest change in 2014/15 will be our transition to a three year funding arrangement
with debt advice providers in England and Wales, which will begin in October 2014. These
new agreements will sharpen the focus of our funded services around a new set of
objectives and will directly lead to better outcomes for over-indebted people.
These objectives are to:
nnReach all over-indebted client groups, including those currently marginalised
nnLocate services in the areas of greatest client need
nnDeliver face-to-face advice on the basis of need
nnWork to the Money Advice Service accredited quality standard
nnDeliver outcomes measured against the Money Advice Service evaluation framework
nnIntegrate financial capability into debt advice delivery
nnBuild effective referral partnerships that meet clients’ need for holistic advice
nnPromote access to telephone and digital debt advice
nnUse a consistent common initial assessment to direct customers to the most appropriate
channel for their needs
nnUse a single, recognised budget template based on standard calculations
This enhanced set of objectives combined with a three year funding period allows us to
maximise the impact of our resources, ensuring that face-to-face advice is used by those
people who need it, including the most vulnerable, whilst still addressing the needs of other
over-indebted clients through other channels.
In order to further increase the number of people that our partners help through high
quality debt advice, and to support our partners in delivering the enhanced levels of service
delivery we will expect under our new agreements, we are increasing the funding we
provide to partners by £3.6m in England and Wales.
We are currently assessing the detailed plans we have received from our partners in the
sector and will proceed to sign three year agreements when we are content that they will
deliver to the new objectives, supporting more people to access free, high quality advice
27
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 5 - Theme 2: Improving access to high quality
debt advice for over-indebted people
across all channels and taking active steps towards preventing the recurrence of debt
crises. We will finalise the agreements in the first half of the year.
This move will help to increase the number of debt advice clients reaching positive
outcomes. We have defined a number of outcomes as part of our evaluation framework,
including clients knowing what steps to take to resolve debt problems, taking action, or
bringing their situation under control.5
We intend to move towards a similar long-term arrangement with our partners in Scotland
and Northern Ireland in the future. Over the course of 2014/15, we will work with Scotland
and Northern Ireland’s governments to consider and develop proposals for these longer
term funding arrangements.
In setting up these agreements, we have integrated requirements for funded projects to
adhere to our quality standards framework, and we will assess their performance against
our evaluation framework on an annual basis. We will also ensure quality through peer
review, getting advisers from different organisations to review each other and provide
feedback on the quality of advice.
Our focus for 2014/15 will also be on increasing the supply and uptake of debt advice.
One of the ways we will do this is through a new forum, bringing together relevant
stakeholders to promote consistent evaluation methods and more joined up
commissioning approaches to target the supply of debt advice towards those areas where
there is particularly high demand. We will also use our recent customer segmentation to
target those most in need of help, and make them aware of free debt advice, initially through
a pilot with our partners in the advice sector.
We know that there is much more that we, and others across the debt advice sector, can
do to give over-indebted people the skills to manage future income shocks and avoid
becoming over-indebted again. Our third area of focus is around taking preventive
measures to reduce levels of over-indebtedness, by giving over-indebted people the
skills to become more financially capable and by working with creditors to better identify
those people who are at risk of becoming over-indebted.
Making a difference in 2013/14: Case study
Debt advice - delivered through
Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau
The client was a housing association tenant who presented with a
number of priority and non-priority debts including council tax and
rent arrears totaling £14,400.
The debts arose during a period when she had separated from her
partner, which had led to overpayments in benefits. This caused very
complex issues regarding liability of debts. After establishing liability
we went through the debt options and assisted the client with a
Debt Relief Order (DRO). This was approved and means that she is now
able to manage her rent and meet her obligations, both improving her
5 financial health and relieving her stress it also prevented homelessness
For the full list of outcomes, see the evaluation framework:
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/debt-advice-evaluation-toolkit-registration
through eviction for the rent arrears. She is also better able to budget
and adjust to future changes.
28
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 5 - Theme 2: Improving access to high quality
debt advice for over-indebted people
29
Strategic Objective: increase the number of positive outcomes for debt
advice clients using our funded projects
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Sign new three year grant
agreements with partners
in England and Wales
nnIn October, put in a place a new funding arrangement to help more overindebted people reach positive outcomes
Strategic Objective: increase the uptake of high quality advice across the
sector and fulfil it with available supply
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Encourage better
cooperation and
coordination between
funders of debt advice
Set up a new forum to encourage adoption of
nna needs-based approach to commissioning
nna single, recognised budget based on ‘standard’ calculations
nncommon initial assessment principles to direct customers to the most
appropriate channel
nnstreamlined referral processes
nnthe Money Advice Service quality framework
nnthe Money Advice Service evaluation framework
Increase awareness of
free-to-client debt advice
in targeted segments
Design, implement, and pilot a direct-to-consumer marketing campaign based on
insights from our customer segmentation research, with a focus on promoting
telephone and online advice.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 5 - Theme 2: Improving access to high quality
debt advice for over-indebted people
30
Strategic Objective: promote the use of preventive measures to reduce levels
of over-indebtedness
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Improve clients’ financial
capability through the
debt advice journey
Improve ways in which customers are referred from our offline money advice
channels to crisis debt advice and vice versa.
Work with creditors and
other key stakeholders
to promote intervention
before customers get into
financial difficulties
Engage with creditors to identify best practice in identifying and helping people
before they fall into arrears and push for consistent implementation across
the sector.
Work with regulators
to influence policy and
improve the landscape
for customers
Work with the FCA as they take on responsibility for consumer credit from
April 2014. Work to embed the Service’s quality framework in the process by
which consumer credit organisations are authorised by the FCA.
Require our funded programmes to embed financial capability into their debt
advice programmes. This means providing clients with the skills, knowledge, and
confidence to prevent them becoming over-indebted again.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
31
Chapter 6
Theme 3: Drive the
wider agenda to
improve people’s
financial capability
Our objectives against this theme are to:
Enhance the financial capability debate by
sharing research and insight
Lead and coordinate joint efforts to
improve the financial capability of the UK
through ‘A Financial Capability Strategy
for the UK’
Support and contribute to other
organisations’ efforts to improve
financial capability
What our customers say
“Helpful – he knew his stuff and I felt that
I could trust him, which is important.
Very happy.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 6 - Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda
to improve people’s financial capability
This theme recognises that our statutory duties require the Service to go
further than providing direct money advice and coordinating debt advice in
the UK. We also need to lead and bring together organisations that share the
goal of improving the financial capability of the UK.
The Service has millions of visitors every year, giving us a unique insight into what
customers need and which interventions have the biggest effect on changing financial
behaviour. In 2014/15, we will share more of our research and customer insight about
what works, to identify gaps across the sector, drive debate and help shape the
development of new policy, regulation, products and services.
We will take a more open and collaborative approach to evaluation, by setting up a
Research and Evaluation Group (REG), made up of external research and evaluation
experts. As well as helping the Service to evaluate its own performance, this group will
consider how the effectiveness of financial advice more broadly is evaluated and make
recommendations for improvements.
We will lead and coordinate joint efforts to improve the financial capability of the UK through
A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK (the UK Strategy). We will bring together
stakeholders from across the financial capability landscape, so that we can collectively
address needs, set out immediate priorities and agree a common approach to evaluation.
We will support advice providers and others by providing the means to share evidence and
best practice.
Finally, we will support and contribute to other organisations’ efforts to improve
financial capability. We will work with our partners in governments, industry, and the
advice sector, to feed our insight into policy development, so that it better meets the needs
of consumers.
A key element of supporting other organisations is our work with the devolved nations
which have specific financial capability requirements. Each nation has different legislative
responsibilities and Programmes for Government. We will continue to deliver nationspecific advice, where appropriate, and material in Welsh in line with the Welsh language
scheme. For each devolved nation, we have a dedicated manager who hosts a national
forum, works with key government bodies, and who works on behalf of the Service in that
nation to build strong relations with stakeholders and encourage joint approaches to
meeting people’s financial capability needs.
32
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 6 - Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda
to improve people’s financial capability
‘A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK’ –
the journey so far
We issued a call for evidence in summer 2013, to collect information on
existing financial capability interventions and evaluation methods. We
had a good range of responses from organisations across the UK, and
the findings of this call for evidence have recently been published.
We commissioned the University of Bristol to carry out more in depth
analysis of our Financial Capability Tracker data to identify the
characteristics of those with poor financial capability who are most at
risk of detriment. That analysis will inform further strategy areas for
working age people.
To help shape the direction of the strategy, we set up a steering group of
key stakeholders from across the advice sector, including industry,
charity, and government representatives. We have also set up three
working groups concerning young people, working age people
preparing for later life, and older people. Each of these groups is made
up of key stakeholders who have the most experience of working with
these respective age groups and issues.
Currently, the working groups are considering detriments facing these
groups, existing interventions, and broader evidence bases, to
collectively determine priorities for each of the groups and appropriate
interventions. Initial findings will be published in summer 2014. At this
stage, we will welcome input from the wider landscape to add insight
and comment on our proposed direction.
Throughout the year, we will meet with stakeholders and participate in
key forums across the UK to get input, learn from others, and share
information on progress.
33
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 6 - Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda
to improve people’s financial capability
34
Strategic Objective: enhance the financial capability debate by sharing
research and insight
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Extend our innovative
research programme across
money advice and debt
advice and share our
insight and research
with stakeholders
Establish a Research and Evaluation Group REG to help us evaluate the
success of the Service and consider evaluation across the wider financial
advice landscape.
Continue tracking the UK’s financial capability against our baseline, and against
key indicators of financial capability, including: managing debt well, saving
regularly, saving for retirement, budgeting, protecting dependents and protecting
assets. We will refine these indicators through consultation with stakeholders to
ensure they are the right ones to use to measure financial capability.
Conduct new, regular surveys of customers to investigate the range of actions they
are taking as a result of coming to the Service.
A new evaluation strategy across the Service – linking insight about customers’
experience and actions with improvements to the business.
Conduct research and further pilots to determine what influences young people’s
behaviour over time.
Continue to build our insight
about different needs across
the UK population and the
risks that different
groups face
Joint work with the FCA and other stakeholders to share our customer
segmentation research to reach a collective view of need, risk and detriment if we
do not take action.
Strategic Objective: lead and coordinate joint efforts to improve the financial
capability of the UK through ‘A Financial Capability Strategy for the UK’
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Coordinate the UK Strategy
to agree priorities for
financial capability
among key stakeholders
Support a steering group of stakeholders to lead the co-development of
the UK Strategy.
Support development
of other financial capability
programmes and
facilitate the evaluation of
programmes and sharing
of best practice
Deliver an evaluation framework in consultation with other organisations to assess
the effectiveness of financial capability programmes.
Working with stakeholders, publish the first iteration of the Strategy in
summer 2014.
Deliver a financial capability micro-site, which will host research, share best
practice in interventions, forums, and the evaluation framework.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 6 - Theme 3: Drive the wider agenda
to improve people’s financial capability
35
Strategic Objective: support and contribute to other organisations’ efforts to
improve financial capability
How we will do it
What we will deliver – examples of initiatives
Work closely with
government and regulators
to provide input on
development and roll-out
of policy
Work with the Department for Work and Pensions to help prepare people for the
introduction of Universal Credit, and support their budgeting needs as they adapt
to the new arrangements.
Work with the Department of Health and others ahead of, and during, the roll out
of social care reform to help make sure people get the information they need about
possible impacts on their budget.
Work with the FCA on the development of new regulations around payday loans.
Share insight around the risks of vulnerable groups taking out payday loans and
work with other organisations to help ensure that people considering taking out a
payday loan are fully informed about alternative options and potential risks.
Work closely with the
devolved nations of the UK
to address their specific
financial capability needs
Chair and participate in key financial capability forums across all nations in the UK,
bringing together government, third sector and industry.
Work with partners in Wales to deliver the outcomes within the Welsh
Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy ‘Taking Everyone into Account’.
Support Scottish Government and Money Advice Scotland to develop a Scottish
National Standard for financial capability.
Continue working closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade,
and Investment to support the Northern Ireland Executive’s Financial
Capability Strategy.
Work with Scottish Government to ensure that financial capability underpins the
Child Poverty Strategy.
Working with the Department for Social Development in the development of a
Financial Independence Strategy for people affected by welfare reform in
Northern Ireland.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
36
Chapter 7
Evaluation of
the Service
and measuring
our impact
What our customers say
“The service by the gentleman was
brilliant. They explained everything in
great detail. I was treated like a customer
and not just a number.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
37
Evaluation of the Service and measuring our impact
Evaluation of impact is a key focus for 2014/15. We want to fulfil our statutory objectives
of enhancing the financial knowledge and ability of people to manage their finances and
improving the quality, consistency and availability of debt advice. We also want to influence
and coordinate the wider financial capability landscape. And we want to be a highly efficient
and effective organisation. Measuring our impact will be essential to evaluate our success
against these ambitions.
In 2014/15 we will develop and build on our existing framework of key performance
indicators. The diagram below sets out our framework for 2014/15:
Key Performance Indicators Framework 2014/15
Business plan theme
Deliver a highly effective
service, making a real
impact on people’s lives
Role
Indicators
A universal information
and resource hub
Total customer
contacts and
satisfaction
A targeted behaviour
change catalyst
Number of times we have
provided customers with
help they required
Number of actions taken as
a result (in full or in part) of
using the Service
nnNumber of debt advice sessions
Support over-indebted
people to access high
quality debt advice across
all delivery channels
A coordinator of
debt advice
Drive the wider agenda
to improve people’s
financial capability
An influencer of the sector
nnStakeholder view of the Service’s influence (money
advice and debt advice)
Become a more efficient
and effective organisation
An efficient organiser
nnOutputs: Annual Report and accounts
nnNumber of actions taken as a result of debt
advice sessions
nnEffectiveness in improving the quality, consistency
and availability of debt advice across the sector
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
We have added five new KPIs to reflect our role as a provider of information to help
people manage their finances and take positive action. The new KPIs also reflect our
role as a funder and coordinator of debt advice, and as an influencer of the wider
landscape. As in 2013/14, we will continue to measure the total number of customer
contacts, customer satisfaction targets, and number of debt advice sessions.
In 2014/15 we will be much more collaborative and open with stakeholders about
how we measure our impact – directly on customers and more broadly through our
coordination and influencing role. We will work with stakeholders through the Service’s
new Research and Evaluation Group (REG) to make sure our evaluation strategy is
robust and the Service is able to continuously improve its provision. The REG will meet
at least four times a year to review progress made on the Service’s evaluation strategy
and provide expert advice on how to improve our measurement of our impact
on customers.
Measuring financial capability
In last year’s business plan we introduced five high level outcomes, which we treated
as indicators of the type of behaviour commonly associated with financial capability.
Throughout 2013/14, we have tracked the behaviour of customers and the UK
population against these indicators, which included: managing debt well, saving
regularly, saving for retirement, protecting your assets and providing for your
dependents.
We set ourselves a target in 2013/14 of achieving at least 480,000 positive actions
against these high level indicators. In the first half of 2013/14, we have reached 349,000
positive actions, and are on track to exceed our target for the full year.
Although we are not explicitly setting a target for 2014/15, we still consider these to be
key indicators of financial capability and will continue to track these indicators, through
our Financial Capability tracker, across the UK population and the Service’s customer
base. In 2014/15 we will add ‘maintaining a budget’ as a sixth indicator, reflecting the
importance of regularly reviewing incoming and outgoing costs. Over the long term,
this tracking will give us a good picture of the broader impact of the Service in helping
to make a difference to the financial capability of the UK.
38
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
39
Values for our Key Performance Indicators
The following table sets out values for our KPIs in 2014/15:
Key Perfomance Indicators
Total customer contacts
Target
16,000,000
Number of times we have given customers the help they required (new)
6,000,000
Number of actions taken as a result of the Service (new)
4,500,000
Number of face-to-face debt advice sessions (April 2014 - September 2014)
87,500*
Number of actions taken as a result of debt advice sessions (April 2014 - September 2014) (new)
78,750*
Customer satisfaction measures – customers:
nnagree they have been provided with the information required
(replacing ‘information’ with ‘help’ in 2014/15)
82%
nnagree we helped them decide on a course of action
70%
nnagree they will revisit the Money Advice Service
88%
nnwould recommend the Service
85%
Number of clients supported by debt advice that: (new)
nnworks to a standard that meets our quality framework (quality)
nnuses a Single Financial Statement (consistency)
2014//15
nnhelps them access the right channel (availability)
A leader and coordinator across the sector: (new)
Providing effective leadership in the area of financial capability
Improving the quality, consistency, and availability of debt advice in the UK
* Six month target, see below for further details
2014//15
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
The targets in the table are based on performance data from 2013/14. For example, the
‘help received’ and ‘actions taken’ targets are based on customer exit polls in 2013/14, and
a one-off deep action survey about the range and frequency of different actions our
customers take. Going forward, we will use new methods to track this information, including
new customer exit poll questions and a regular survey to understand the impact of the
service on customers’ behaviour and what actions they are taking to stop, think and
engage with their money. This may mean that we will need to revise the projected targets
for the KPIs in 2014/15 based on new data coming in throughout 2014/15. We will do this in
consultation with stakeholders through the REG and update on any changes through our
quarterly performance reports.
The KPIs for debt advice (face-to-face sessions and actions taken) only cover the first 6
months of 2014/15. This recognises that the Service will move to the new funding
arrangement with debt advice providers in England and Wales from October 2014.
The following section explains each KPI in more detail, and how we will measure them:
Total number of contacts: 16,000,000
This year we are aiming to attract 16 million contacts to the service across all channels.
Contacts can include repeat visits to the site. This figure only represents contacts that
directly access the Service, and not those who view our content on partner sites. This
reflects our focus on improving levels of engagement among customers, rather than driving
up customer numbers.
Number of times we have given customers the help they required:
6,000,000
Our Service is about more than just providing people with information: we want to help
them with their money needs. This new KPI will measure the quality of contact with our
customers by showing how many times we give customers the help they require. It will help
us to understand which parts of our Service are meeting customer needs, and which parts
need to be refined and improved.
Currently, we ask customers whether we have given them the ‘information’ they required.
We will be refining this question to ask ‘did you get the help that you required?’
40
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
Number of actions taken as a result of the Service: 4,500,000
This KPI is designed to evaluate the impact of the Service on people’s behaviour, and the
extent to which, based on help from the Service, people take steps to stop, think and act to
better manage their money.
We will track this through a new quarterly survey which will look at the steps customers take
following interaction with the Service, across all channels. This will provide us with a more
comprehensive indication of which areas of our Service lead customers to take positive
actions, and the effectiveness of each of our delivery channels (website, web-chat, phone
and face-to-face) in helping to facilitate this.
Importantly, following and understanding the steps customers take will enable us to have a
much better understanding of our impact on our customers, and help us to drive actions
that can improve people’s financial capability.
The diagram below demonstrates the types of actions we can help people take, and how
these relate to broader financial capability outcomes. The wide range of actions reflects the
diverse needs of the people who come to the Service for help – some will need help with
basic budgeting, or for preparing for retirement, while others will need help to manage their
debt well.
The actions in the table are not final – we are currently testing survey questions with
consumers. This survey and final set of questions will be refined with the help of the REG,
and we will begin the process to support the survey from Spring 2014.
41
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Total number of actions
Customer impact –
improving financial
capability
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
42
Examples of positive actions we expect customers to take after using
the Service*
Budgeting to live
within means
nnI only borrow what I can repay on time
nnI stick to a budget and avoid overspending
nnI have taken steps to maximise my income (e.g. claimed benefits, increasing hours, etc.)
nnI plan major spending in detail (e.g. buying a car, buying a home, going on holiday)
nnI shop around for the best deals
Managing debt well
nnI have contacted people I owe money to about my debt problems
nnI have a debt repayment plan in place and stick to it
nnI have sought independent debt advice
nnI have made sure I am borrowing in the cheapest way
Saving regularly
nnI have started to build a savings buffer to cope with the unexpected
nnI have started saving for the major things in my life (e.g. moving house, having a
baby, buying a car, etc.) – excluding retirement
nnI am now saving more than I was previously
Being prepared for
later life and saving
for retirement
nnI have started to pay into a pension
nnI have started to increase my pension contributions when I can
nnI have compared annuity options and selected the right one for me
nn have calculated how much money I will need to have the standard of living
which I want
nnI have a plan for my / our future care needs
Protected against
the unknown –
protecting assets
and dependents
nnI have taken out appropriate insurance so that my critical assets are protected
nnI have taken out appropriate insurance so that my dependents are protected
*These actions are based on results from a deep impact survey conducted in 2013 which captured the types of actions customers take following help
from the Service. This diagram groups the actions against broader outcomes to improve financial capability.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 7 - Evaluation of the Service
and measuring our impact
Number of debt advice sessions: 87,500 (UK wide - six month target)
We have set a target of 87,500 face-to-face sessions across the UK for the first half of
2014/15. This recognises that we will introduce a new three year funding arrangement from
October 2014.
We will set a value for this KPI in July 2014, when we publish our first quarter performance
results for 2014/15.
Number
of actions taken as a result of debt advice sessions: 78,750
(UK wide – six month target)
This KPI is about measuring the impact of debt advice on clients. We have only set a six
month target, recognising that we will expand this KPI after October 2014 when new three
year agreements come into force.
For the first six months of 2014/15 we would expect at least 78,750 positive actions to be
taken by clients as a result of face-to-face debt advice sessions we fund. This is based on
Money Advice Service research, which indicated that 90% of debt advice sessions led to a
client taking action.
After October 2014 we intend to expand this KPI so that it reflects more broadly all of the
positive outcomes people can experience from debt advice sessions (across all channels),
as defined in our evaluation framework. For example, through our new debt evaluation
framework, we will capture whether a person’s knowledge of what they need to do is
improved and whether a client’s financial situation is improved.
Therefore, from October 2014, we will rename this KPI ‘positive outcomes from debt advice
sessions’. We will set the value for this revised KPI in July when we publish our first quarter
performance results for 2014/15.
Number of clients supported by debt advice that:
nnworks to a standard that meets our quality framework (quality)
nnuses a single financial statement (consistency)
nnhelps them access the right channel (availability)
We have a statutory objective to improve the quality, consistency, and availability of debt
advice. This does not only apply to our own funded projects, but to the whole debt advice
sector. This new KPI is a quantitative measure to assess our effectiveness against our
statutory objectives.
In 2014/15 we will conduct research to establish how most effectively to measure this and
set a baseline, before setting a target in 2015/16.
Influence over the sector:
nnProviding effective leadership in the area of financial capability
nnImproving the quality, consistency, and availability of debt advice in the UK
In addition to our direct offer to customers, we are working towards better co-ordination of
the wider financial capability and debt advice sectors. This will involve sharing research and
insight, putting in place frameworks to help the sector evaluate the effectiveness of projects
and measure quality in a consistent way, and working closely with key stakeholders from
across both sectors.
To track how effective we are as leaders and partners across the advice sector, we will use
our annual stakeholder survey to set a baseline, which will give an indication of stakeholder
opinion in these key areas. We will use this insight to tailor our approach, and in 2015/16,
we will work to improve on our 2014/15 baseline.
43
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
44
Chapter 8
Resource summary
2014/15
What our customers say
“Really love this service – you don’t know
what a difference this has made to my life to
find and fill this out today, to really get to
grips with my numbers. I’ve been worried
about my debts for months”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
Chapter
45
This chapter provides a breakdown of the total Money Advice Service
Budget for 2014/15, and a comparison against the 2013/14 budget.
The total Money Advice Service budget for 2014/15 is £81.1 million, an increase of £2.8m
from last year’s budget. This increase is accounted for entirely by the increase in the debt
advice service delivery budget. Separate budgets for money advice and debt advice
make up the total – this reflects the separate levies on the financial services industry for
each stream.
The Service is spending 80% of its money advice budget on frontline delivery and customer
engagement, as it did in 2013/14, with 10% being spent on enablers. Support services have
been held at a consistent 10% of total budget.
For debt advice, 94% of budget is utilised for frontline delivery and its advice services
(as in 2013/14), with 4% on coordination and research activities and a further 2% on
support services.
The table below shows the high level breakdown of the total budget, compared to last year:
2014/15
2013/14
Movement
Total Money Advice Service budget
£81.1m
£78.3m
£2.8m
Money advice budget
£43.0m
£43.8m*
(£0.8m)
Debt advice budget
£38.1m
£34.5m
£3.6m
The Service’s budget was settled before the Chancellor’s Budget announcement on
19 March 2014, which included initiatives to help people save and prepare for retirement.
The government is currently consulting on these proposals. We will work with HM Treasury
and the FCA to understand their expectations about how the Money Advice Service and
the wider advice sector can be involved in this work and whether this will have any
budgetary implications for us throughout the year.
The following tables provide a further breakdown of the separate budgets for our money
advice provision and our debt advice provision. For both budgets, we provide a summary of
variance in the budget for 2014/15 compared to the previous financial year.
Some budget figures in the following tables have been reforecast since we published the
budget for consultation in December 2013.
For example we have increased the money advice budget for face-to-face to take account
of a new channel strategy, which we will test and refine in 2014/15, and a potential increase
in the number of sessions. We have decreased the money advice budget for digital
development, proposition and product development and partnerships since the
consultation, recognising that these services are now better established and are being
delivered in a more cost effective way.
*Net cash received was £43m, as a result of £0.85m being returned to levy payers in 2013/14, relating to the
previous year.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
Chapter
46
Money advice budget with staff costs included
Money Advice
Details of expenditure
2014-15
£000's
2013-14 Movement
£000's
£000's
Frontline delivery
Face-to-Face
Delivery of face-to-face sessions
7,951
6,525
1,426
Telephone and web chat
Delivery of telephone, web chat and
email sessions
1,299
1,774
(475)
Printed guides
Print and distribution of guides
1,056
1,070
14
Digital
Website development, user experience,
testing, maintenance and hosting
5,708
5,724
(16)
Proposition and product development Develop step-by-step life-event
journeys for the website, enhance
existing products to meet customer
need and research and develop
new products that meet our
customers’ needs
1,795
3,696
(1,901)
Partnerships
1,940
1,948
(8)
19,749
20,737
(988)
Delivering advice to people through
our partners’ websites and services,
and developing specialist products
for partners
Total front line delivery
Enablers
Policy
Developing the Financial Capability
Strategy for the UK and hosting events
and forums around the UK to
coordinate financial capability activities
1,086
904
182
Consumer Insight and Research
Gaining insight from customers, testing
products with customers, continuation
of financial capability tracker and
measuring our impact
2,245
2,206
(25)
Corporate Comms & PR
PR campaign activities,
stakeholder engagement and
internal communications
887
831
57
4,218
3,941
277
Total enablers
Customer Engagement
A range of activity, from campaigns to
digital marketing, aimed at encouraging
people to take action
13,246
13,180
66
Support Services
Delivery of IT systems and data,
facilities, procurement, HR and finance
4,487
4,637
(150)
Board and Executive Team
Board and Executive leadership team
(includes administrative support)
1,316
1,267
49
43,016
43,762
(746)
Total*
*Please note: staff costs are now included in function.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
Chapter
47
Summary of movement in money advice budget
Money Advice
Summary of expenditure as a
percentage of total budget
£43.0M
£43.8M
£0.8M
2014-15
2013-14 Movement
Front line Delivery
Face-to-face, telephone and web chat,
digital and website development, product
and proposition development
47%
47%
No change
Enablers
Development of the UK Strategy and the
Service’s own strategy; research, insight
and measuring impact; PR and
stakeholder engagement
10%
9%
-1%
Customer Engagement
Customer communications and
engagement
30%
30%
No change
Support Services
IT systems and data, facilities,
procurement, HR and finance
10%
11%
1%
Board and Executive Team
Board and executive leadership team
(including administrative support
3%
3%
No change
100%
100%
0%
Total
Money advice budget breakdown 2014/15
3%
10%
47%
30%
10%
Key
■ Front line Delivery
■ Enablers
■ Customer Engagement
■ Support Services
■ Board and Executive Team
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
Chapter
48
Debt advice budget with staff costs included
Debt Advice
Details of expenditure
2014-15
£000's
2013-14 Movement
£000's
£000's
Front line delivery
England and Wales
Funding for provision of debt advice to
people in England and Wales
30,577
26,952
3,625
Scotland
Funding for provision of debt advice to
people in Scotland
2,762
2,754
8
Northern Ireland
Funding for provision of debt advice to
people in Northern Ireland
814
810
4
34,153
30,245
3,636
Total front line delivery
Second Tier Support
Specialist support
Funding to support provision of specialist
advice to third sector debt advisers
800
300
500
Action on hearing loss
Service available to grant-funded debt
advisers to enable provision of advice to
the hard of hearing
47
47
-
Language line
Service available to grant-funded debt
advisers to enable provision of advice to
those who cannot speak English
94
95
(1)
Training
Provision of training to face-to-face
grant-funded debt advisers
200
250
(50)
220
200
20
1,361
892
469
478
528
(50)
-
774
(774)
Capacity building (achieving standard) Funding to enable our delivery partners
to implement changes to comply with
new standards
Total Second Tier Support
Co-ordination
Support for non-funded projects
Funding to enable implementation of
changes to comply with new standards
Accreditation
Design and implementation of Money
Advice Service quality framework
Design and implementation
Common initial assessment
development, integration and new tools
850
995
(145)
Peer review
New peer review process for advisers
250
-
250
Communications
Communication of debt advice services
Total Co-ordination
200
-
200
1,778
2,297
(519)
-
Policy & Research
Funding a supply/demand study,
evaluation of advice delivery
344
394
(50)
Support Services
Delivery of IT systems and data,
facilities, procurement, HR and finance
438
378
61
38,075
34,478
3,597
Total*
•
Please note: staff costs are now included in each function.
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section 8 - Resource summary 2014/15
Chapter
49
Summary of movement in debt advice budget
Debt Advice
£38.1m
2014-15
Front line Delivery
Provision of face-to-face sessions in
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland
Second Tier Support
£34.5m
£3.6m
2013-14 Movement
90%
89%
+1%
Support of specialist advice to third
sector debt advisers
4%
3%
+1%
Co-ordination
Enabling delivery partners to implement
any changes to comply with new
standards
4%
6%
-2%
Policy & Research
Funding a supply/demand study,
evaluation of advice delivery
1%
1%
No change
Support Services
IT systems and data, facilities,
procurement, HR and finance
1%
1%
No change
100%
100%
0%
Total
Debt advice budget breakdown 2014/15
1% 1%
4%
4%
90%
Key
■ Front line delivery
■ Second tier support
■ Coordination
■ Policy and Research
■ Support Services
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Section
50
Chapter 9
Responses to the
public consultation
and changes to the
draft Business Plan
What our customers say
“They were extremely helpful, very
good. It was a bit daunting at first. She
was inspiring. Gave me confidence to
see it through to the end.”
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 9 - Responses to the public consultation
and changes to the draft Businss Plan
In December 2013 we issued a draft version of this business plan for
consultation. Twenty-six organisations formally responded, representing
financial services, consumer groups, advice providers, debt advice
providers and research bodies.
We are grateful to those stakeholders who responded, both in writing and through our
stakeholder forums and in informal discussion with us.
The overwhelming majority of responses were positive about the strategic direction of the
service and the three strategic themes for 2014/15. Many recognised our higher levels of
engagement with stakeholders and partners over the last year. Most were positive about
the focus on evaluation and measuring impact, step by step journeys, and interventions
at teachable moments and the direction of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK.
Many expressed support for the three-year debt advice funding arrangement, which
stakeholders thought would bring stability to the sector.
Across all responses, there was a very strong desire to collaborate with the Money Advice
Service, including helping us set future strategic priorities and take forward key pieces of
work such as the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK and designing products for
customers. We are very keen to continue working collaboratively with others, and success
of the 2014/15 plan will depend on strong relationships with our partners and stakeholders.
Some stakeholders raised questions about how key initiatives will be rolled out and others
sought more information about our position on key issues.
Based on this feedback we have updated the draft business plan to provide more
information on key issues, clarify our position and present information in a better way.
The key changes in response to feedback are detailed below.
Devolved nations
Some respondents called for more detail on activities being undertaken in each of the
devolved nations, and how we are working with governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland
and Wales.
nnWe have included three new appendices covering our work plan in each of the
devolved nations, including a summary of how many advice sessions we will be
funding in each of the nations.
Vulnerable people and target audience
Some respondents wanted to know whether the target audience identified in the 2013/14
plan is still relevant, and what support we are providing vulnerable people to access advice.
nnWe have updated Chapter 3 (focus on 14/15) to reflect how we are taking account
of the target audience and vulnerable people. This update recognises that the target
audience, those who are meeting less than 4 of five indicators of financial capability,
absolutely remains relevant to the Service – we use this target audience to reach people
who will be benefit from money advice. In 2014/15 we will build on this understanding of
need by undertaking further research about who is most at risk of detriment if they are
not financially capable. This research will form part of the evidence base for the UK
Strategy. This will complement the Service’s existing efforts to help vulnerable people,
such as funding initiatives with the Scottish Legal Aid Board to reach people who are
marginalised from the advice process because of geographic isolation or a disability.
51
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 9 - Responses to the public consultation
and changes to the draft Businss Plan
Evaluation strategy
Several respondents said that our revised KPI framework, while a step in the right direction,
focused too much on ‘numbers’ (i.e. number of actions) rather than measuring our impact
on individuals and what positive outcome they experience because of the Service. Some
respondents also asked for more clarity around how the new three year funding framework
for debt advice providers will affect debt advice KPIs.
nnWe have updated Chapter 7 (Evaluation of the Service) to provide more
information on how the actions we intend to track fulfil wider financial capability
outcomes, and have a positive impact on customers. We have also updated this
chapter to provider a clear explanation around how debt advice KPIs will change
from October 2014, when the new three year agreement comes into force.
Debt advice
While supportive of the three year funding agreement, debt advice providers raised
questions about how the new evaluation framework and emphasis on channel shift will
support vulnerable people, and how we will ensure advisers are supported.
nnWe have updated Chapter 5 to reflect how the new evaluation and funding
framework will focus our funded services around a new set of objectives and will
lead to better outcomes for over-indebted people.
Other changes
We have also made other minor changes to the draft document, based on stakeholder
suggestions, to improve its presentation and content. This includes additional material in in
Chapters 2 and 3 on our approach to young people, our target market and our new
organisational values.
52
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Chapter 9 - Responses to the public consultation
and changes to the draft Businss Plan
Stakeholders who responded:
Association of British Insurers
Advice NI
Advice UK
Association of Mortgage Intermediaries
Association of Personal Finance Advisers
British Bankers’ Association
Capitalise Partnerships
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice Bureaux Southwark
The Consumer Council NI
Debt Resolution Forum
Financial Capability Partnership NI
Financial Services Consumer Panel
Finance and Leasing Association
Glasgow Association for Mental Health
Institute of Financial Planning
Institute of Financial Services School of Finance
Money Advice Scotland
Money Advice Trust
The Money Charity
MyBnk
National Numeracy
Step Change
Toynbee Hall
UK Cards Association
Zero Credit Limited
In the lead up to consultation, we also
consulted with key statutory bodies:
FCA Practitioner Panel
FCA Small Business Practitioner Panel
Financial Services Consumer Panel
HM Treasury
BIS
OFT
Devolved forums:
We also consulted on our specific work in each of the devolved nations through our
National Forums, in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
53
Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Northern Ireland - Business Plan Appendix
Northern Ireland –
Business Plan Appendix
In Northern Ireland we co-chair a cross departmental and stakeholder forum
with Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to ensure our work in
Northern Ireland complements the Programme for Government reflects the
specific needs and adds value for people in Northern Ireland.
Strategic theme 1: Deliver a highly effective service, making a real impact on
people’s lives
Our focus in 2014/15 is to encourage and facilitate the people of Northern Ireland in seeking
out money advice and making this normal and easy thing to do. In order to achieve this in
Northern Ireland we will work with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
(DETI), Department of Social Development (DSD), Department of Employment and learning
(DEL), NIDirect and the Voluntary and community sector and other organisations to ensure
that people across Northern Ireland are able to access our resources through trusted
intermediaries such as a NIDirect, local advice agencies and Jobs and Benefits offices.
We will do this by working with these partners to syndicate our tools and resources to our
partners and their members’ websites.
In 2014/15 we will be funding 3,520 face-to-face money advice sessions.
We will work with our delivery partner, A4E, to ensure that at least 80% of people who
access the face-to-face service are vulnerable to poor financial decision making. Over the
past year many of these clients have faced redundancy, and with a drop in their household
income, budgeting and benefits have been their primary focus.
To help give young people the skills to manage their money and influence good money
habit formation in children under the age of sevan we have created videos, creating a good
parenting section on our site, created youth videos alongside refreshed content, and are
co-creating two money management apps, one on borrowing, the other on savings goals.
We are also creating a planning scenario tool for graduating students and will work with key
partners from Queens University Belfast and University of Ulster NI to raise awareness of
this content.
Strategic theme 2: Improving access to high quality debt advice for
over-indebted people
In 2014/15 we will continue to fund the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
who are contracting Advice NI to deliver 4,300 debt advice face-to-face sessions across
Northern Ireland as part of a multichannel contract.
We will work with DETI to ensure our debt advice funding is coordinated across Northern
Ireland and as this funding is granted on an annual basis we will look to commit to provide
funding on a more sustainable footing at the end of the existing arrangements. We will
share our research, mapping of services and quality standard framework to ensure that
going forward all funded providers are working towards a consistent and accessible,
outcomes-focused debt provision.
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Business Plan 2014/15
Northern Ireland - Business Plan Appendix
Strategic theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to improve people’s
financial capability
In line with the rest of the Business Plan, we do not just provide direct money advice and
coordinate deby advice in Northern Ireland and across the UK, but also bring together
organisations that share the goals of improving the financial capability of the UK.
Developing a Financial Capability Strategy for Northern Ireland is a Programme for
Government commitment for the Northern Ireland Executive. We have been working with
DETI, as lead department, through co-chairing a cross departmental forum, on the process
of developing the strategy, public consultation process and related departmental and
non-departmental action plans. We will continue to support the work DETI is leading on as
the strategy is launched, progress is monitored and impact evaluated.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders in Northern Ireland, to share more of our
research and customer insight about what works, to identify gaps across the sector, drive
debate and help shape the development of new policy, regulation, products and services.
We will also ensure good practice and learning in Northern Ireland is fed into the Financial
Capability Strategy for the UK.
We will continue to support and contribute to other organisations’ efforts to improve
financial capability across Northern Ireland. We will work with our partners in government,
industry, and the advice sector, to feed our insight into policy development, so that it better
meets the needs of citizens in Northern Ireland.
We will work with partners such as Advice NI and Ulster Bank to evaluate the impact of
financial capability initiatives.
To ensure we are a dynamic, learning and flexible organisation and that our services are
appropriate and accessible for the people in Northern Ireland, we will look to establish a
Northern Ireland forum to act in an advisory capacity to the Money Advice Service. This
forum will inform the organisation on key issues facing people in Northern Ireland
throughout 2014/15, and advising on the impact of our plans on people. Furthermore this
forum will be key to linking the work of the Northern Ireland strategy with the developing
Financial Capability Strategy for the UK.
The membership of this forum will be made up from key stakeholders from government,
advice sector, voluntary and community sectors, education, housing, financial inclusion
and financial services sector representative bodies.
We will continue to engage with and represent the Service in the Northern Ireland Financial
Capability Partnership, Northern Ireland Discussion Forum, Government Advice &
Information Group, Money for Life Steering Group, Money Advice Group, Northern Ireland
Government Affairs Group, and Ulster Bank Community Impact Group and take the views
of these groups back into development of our services.
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Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Northern Ireland - Business Plan Appendix
Making a difference in 2013/14: Case study
A case study from Northern Ireland - delivered
through A4e
Our face-to-face service helps people plan for the future.
One of our customers was trying to find work and receiving Job
Seeker’s Allowance. He was single with dependants, had no debt but
didn’t have any savings at all. He came to us because he wanted to save
more and look after his family.
We showed him how to use the Service’s Budget Planner and Cut Back
Calculator. This meant the customer could budget his incoming money
and cut back on his spending that wasn’t necessary. By using these
tools, the customer could see he could make savings, and set a goal to
save £100. He also developed a plan to continue using the Service’s
website and tools to help himself budget.
Following the face-to-face session, the customer agreed to monitor his
budget using the Service’s tools and planners, build on his savings goal
and also put something aside for emergencies. He said he felt more
confident to manage his budget and more prepared to look after his
family if something unexpected happens.
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Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Scotland - Business Plan Appendix
Scotland –
Business Plan Appendix
In Scotland, we have strong stakeholder partnerships and work with many
departments of the Scottish Government. We will continue to work closely
with them to promote financial capability across the three social policy
frameworks (Achieving our Potential, Equally Well and Early Years) and will
make the necessary links to the Programme for Government.
There is a strong desire to create and deliver a shared vision for the commissioning of debt
advice services and take a longer term approach to funding, taking into account the
referendum and the Scottish Government’s spending review period.
Strategic theme 1: Deliver a highly effective service, making a real impact
on people’s lives
In 2014/15 we will fund 8,800 face-to-face money advice sessions through our delivery
partner Citizens Advice Scotland. We will work with them to ensure that at least 80%
of people who access the face-to-face service are vulnerable to poor financial decision
making. Over the past year customers have predominantly accessed this service to
discuss budgeting and money management; benefits and tax credits; and
borrowing money.
In partnership with the Scottish Government initiative PACE (Partnership Action for
Continuing Employment), we distribute our Redundancy Handbooks to those facing or
being made redundant and offer our free money advice sessions.
Using our stakeholder network in Scotland we will continue to update, promote and
syndicate our tools and resources e.g. Glasgow Council are redesigning their Glasgow
Advice and Information Network (GAIN) portal and will use our content. Also, by working
with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations we are reaching housing providers
across Scotland, and through them, social and private rented housing tenants.
Strategic theme 2: Improving access to high quality debt advice for
over-indebted people
In 2014/15 we will continue our co-funding of debt advice with the Scottish Government
and our partnership with the Scottish Legal Aid Board. Our approach to funding in Scotland
will incorporate the costs of training, quality assurance, accreditation, evaluation and other
associated services.
Through “Making Advice Work”, our joint debt advice programme with the Scottish
Government, we are exploring new partnerships with organisations who deal with
marginalised groups and over the course of this year we will begin to understand the impact
of these interventions. One such example is the Yorkhill Families Money and Debt Advice
Project which will provide debt and money advice to families from across Scotland whose
children are out-patients at Yorkhill Hospital and who are financially vulnerable because of
the impact of their children’s long-term health condition.
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Scotland - Business Plan Appendix
We will work with the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) to support the development of the
financial capability module set out in the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill,
currently going through the Scottish Parliament.
We will continue to fund a consultant post with Money Advice Scotland with responsibility
for helping to guide and support organisations to build their capacity to meet the Scottish
National Standards for information and advice.
Our partnership with the Improvement Service has been very effective, a result of which is
their research report ‘Improving Outcomes in Money Advice’. This has stimulated
extensive debate across the country and highlighted the diversity of the funding
approaches taken by local authorities. It also identified some key areas for progress to be
made e.g. improving engagement between the health sector and money advice by
strengthening relationships, referrals, access and visibility (early intervention and
prevention). We are keen to continue work in this area with them and develop an on-going
partnership.
Strategic theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to improve people’s
financial capability
Our Scottish Financial Capability Forum acts in an advisory capacity to our organisation,
informing us on key issues facing people in Scotland and advising on the impact of our
plans going forward. It also advises the Scottish Government in taking forward financial
capability policy. This group includes representation from across local and central
government, voluntary organisations, housing sector and financial services. The group
provides a platform for organisations to update on the work they are doing on financial
capability and debt advice and on wider issues such as Welfare Reform. For example, AiB
have provided an update on the bankruptcy law reform that is going through the Scottish
Parliament, and we receive regular updates from North Lanarkshire Council who are part
of the Department for Work and Pensions Local Authority pilot.
We will carry on our work with the AiB and Money Advice Scotland to develop
competences and standards in financial capability, which can be aligned to the Scottish
National Standards for Information and Advice.
The Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill is part of AiB’s vision to create a financial
health service in Scotland, to provide rehabilitation to people and organisations in relation
to their financial pressures. The Financial Health Service concept will be developed in
2014, ensuring that the people of Scotland have access to money and debt advice and
affordable credit and that financial education is available to all. We will continue to engage
with AiB as this concept develops.
Attending Education Scotland’s Financial Education Forum provides a mechanism through
which we can promote insight and good practice on young people interventions e.g. our
regrets research. We will also promote our resources that are in development to enhance
the financial capability of young people and parents/carers. As well as trying to reach
young people and parents/carers directly, we’ll work alongside educators and youth
advisers across Scotland.
We plan to undertake a ‘parenting pilot’ in a local authority area in Scotland to test the
relative impact of different interventions in centres that bring together early-years
practitioners, parents and young children. This project would be supported by the Scottish
Government as part of their commitments to financial capability outlined in the Child
Poverty Strategy for Scotland.
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Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Scotland - Business Plan Appendix
Making a difference in 2013/14: Case study
A case study from Scotland – delivered through
Motherwell Citizens Advice Bureau
A customer living in the Motherwell & Wishaw district had recently
been widowed and was referred for budgeting advice.
Her late husband had previously taken care of the household budget
and she was unsure where to start. The adviser spent the session
helping the customer to complete our online budget planner. Once
completed the customer could see that she actually did have a
reasonable amount of disposable income available each month. The
customer agreed to look at savings accounts to start putting money
aside for emergencies and for specific goals, such as visiting family in
England. She was also set up with a Money Advice Service account on
our website, allowing her to revisit her budget planner at any time to
update it as and when she had any changes to her circumstances.
The adviser also spent some time looking at other advice sections,
including insurance, wills and the savings calculator. The customer
was also encouraged to come back to the Service should she feel she
needed further help and support.
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Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Wales - Business Plan Appendix
Wales –
Business Plan Appendix
Looking ahead to 2014/15, our work in Wales is closely aligned to the Welsh
Government’s Programme for Government. Stakeholders in Wales have
provided input into our priorities through our Wales Forum and we are very
grateful for this collaborative partnership.
We look forward to continuing our productive relationship with the Welsh
Government and key stakeholders in 2014/15.
Strategic theme 1: Deliver a highly effective service, making a real impact
on people’s lives
Our focus in 2014/15 will be on ‘normalising’ the need for money advice. Our first objective
against this theme is to make seeking advice a normal part of everyday life. In order to
achieve this in Wales we will work with the Welsh Local Government Association, Welsh
Council for Voluntary Associations and other membership organisations to ensure that
people across Wales are able to access our resources through trusted intermediaries such
as their housing association, local authority or support services. We will do this by working
with these partners to syndicate our tools and resources to our partners and their
members’ websites.
In Wales in 2014/15, we will be funding 5,280 face-to-face money advice sessions. This will
be delivered by Citizens Advice Cymru.
We will work with our delivery partner, Citizens Advice Cymru, to ensure that at least
80% of people who access the face-to-face service are vulnerable to poor financial
decision making.
Welsh Programme for Government
Tacking Poverty Strategy. We will continue to work with the Welsh Government and the
Independent Advice Providers Forum, to deliver the actions identified in the Advice
Services Review. We will share our research, toolkits and quality standard matrix to
promote consistency and reduce duplication of work.
We will support the Welsh Government’s commitment of working on our most deprived
areas through the Communities First Programme. We will continue to work with as many
Communities First clusters as possible, to ensure people in their communities can access
our face-to-face debt advice and also money advice online, face-to-face and via the
telephone as appropriate.
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Money Advice Service
Business Plan 2014/15
Wales - Business Plan Appendix
Culture and Heritage of Wales. We will ensure that our services continue to be available
to the public in Welsh and let the public know that they are available. In summary, our key
commitments for delivering services in Wales are as follows:
nnOur website is available in both English and Welsh languages. Exceptions to this are
video content and all digital media that works within an environment of instant
communication, such as social media, including Twitter, and online advertising.
nnWe provide a Welsh language telephone service
nnOur face-to-face money advice and debt advice services can deliver sessions in Welsh
where requested
The full Welsh Language Scheme is available on line at
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/files/welshlanguageschemeinenglish.pdf
21st Century Healthcare: Research shows that improved financial capability has
significant positive effects on wellbeing and is a contributing factor in alleviating symptoms
such as stress, anxiety or depression.
Public Health Wales has been raising awareness of over-indebtedness and its associated
problems with health, and have engaged with health professionals in Wales, especially
those who come into regular contact with the public. We will work with Public Health Wales
and other health agencies in Wales to promote our tools and resources to Welsh health
professionals to enable them to appropriately support their patients and clients
across Wales.
Education: Research has confirmed that attitudes to money are formed early and that
interventions within a broader family framework can influence the desired long-term
behaviour change. We will ensure education professionals and those working with children
and young people are able to access our online resources and videos aimed at supporting
parenting and young people’s transitions into adulthood.
Supporting People: We will ensure that the multi-channel provision is publicised to the
teams around the families in all 22 local authorities; including Families First, Flying Start
coordinators and the Family Information Services. We will work with support services and
particularly those working through digital inclusion channels, to ensure they are aware and
able to refer their clients to our financial capability online tools and calculators. With
particular emphasis on the parent’s guide to money, parenting pages and retirement pages
Welsh Homes and Welfare Reform: In partnership with the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) we have been working to support social landlords that are involved in the
Direct Payment Demonstration Pilots to understand the needs of tenants who are receiving
their housing benefit payments directly. Through this work we have developed bilingual
tools and resources to support landlords and tenants with the personal budgeting support
that may be needed under Universal Credit.
We will work with the Welsh Government, local authorities and housing providers to ensure
they are able to access and promote the tools and resources to social and private renting
housing tenants across Wales.
We will work with the DWP in Wales to ensure our money advice tools and resources are
used in digital inclusion work carried out with claimants to help improve financial capability
and personal budgeting.
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Wales - Business Plan Appendix
Strategic theme 2: Improving access to high quality debt advice for overindebted people
We will be funding 10,000 debt advice face-to-face sessions across Wales. We will work
with the Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association and other funders of
debt advice to identify gaps in debt services and ensure our debt advice funding is located
where there is the most need across Wales.
We will work with the Independent Advice Providers Forum and Welsh Government on the
Advice Services Review recommendations. To this end we will share our debt research,
mapping of services and quality standard framework. Where appropriate we will support
and encourage stakeholders in Wales to use our debt evaluation toolkit. In partnership with
funders and the Independent Advice Providers Forum, we will work towards an outcomesfocused, accessible and consistent debt provision in Wales, adding value where possible.
Strategic theme 3: Drive the wider agenda to improve people’s
financial capability
In line with the rest of this Business Plan, we do not just provide direct money advice and
coordinate debt advice in Wales and across the UK, but also bring together organisations
that share the goals of improving the financial capability of the UK.
To ensure our services are based on current Wales national and local strategies and are
appropriate for the people in Wales, we have set up a forum to shape and inform the work
of the Money Advice Service in Wales. This forum will inform the organisation on key issues
facing people in Wales throughout 2014/15. The membership of this forum is drawn from a
range of leading Welsh policy, advice, and financial services sector representative bodies
including the Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association and the Wales
Council for Voluntary Action. Forum members will influence and shape the delivery of our
work through the implementation plan of the Wales Strategy, which is updated annually.
This plan highlights the work to be undertaken by our Wales Manager together with
key stakeholders.
We will work with the existing financial capability forums in north and south Wales, to share
customer insight, new tools, resources and research to help shape the development of
services, local strategies and new policy. The good practice and learning in Wales, shared
by others at these forums, whether that be from advice agencies, credit unions, housing
associations, community interest companies, or others, will be gathered and shared with
the other nations through the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK.
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Business Plan 2014/15
Wales - Business Plan Appendix
Making a difference in 2013/14: Case study
A case study from Wales - delivered through Caerphilly
Advice Bureau
A woman from the Rhymney Valley was referred to our face-to-face
money advice team as she needed urgent support regarding her
financial situation following the breakdown of her marriage. Having
recently split up from her husband she quickly found herself in serious
financial difficulty. Her housing and council tax benefit payments had
been suspended and she was also affected by under occupancy of her
home.
We went through the financial problems she was facing. The adviser
discussed discretionary housing payments as well as how she can get
assistance to help her deal with her debts.
The customer did not know how to budget as her husband had always
looked after the household finances. We went through the online
budget planner with the customer and invited her to make a follow up
appointment to discuss the benefit of budgeting.
When asked what she thought of the advice she had been given,
the customer simply said: “You don’t know how much you have
helped me.”
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Money Advice Service
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© Money Advice Service
April 2014
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