Financial Inclusion and Credit Unions

Amidst the current financial turmoil, I had no shortage of points to make in two speeches on the subject of financial inclusion this week.

The first speech was to the AGM of the CAB in Merthyr Tydfil yesterday afternoon. It was interesting to hear about the experiences of advisers on the ground about how people's concerns change with the worsening economic climate. The CAB provide a first rate service locally, and it always inspires me to ask what more we can do as an Assembly after talking to people who largely give their time and expertise for free. During my speech I covered the continuing campaign for better financial education, starting at school-level - a key recommendation of the Over-Indebtedness Report I put together for WAG in 2005.

Another theme I explored in more detail in the second speech, at this morning's excellent Financial Inclusion Conference, was the role of credit unions in Wales. Our developing network in Wales already provides invaluable low cost loans, good saving options - and, crucially, dependable and sensible advice but there is much more they could do with the right support. In the USA, where credit unions are admittedly much more established, they have just started to provide student loans. With the current challenges facing people who want to go on and study at a post-graduate level in Wales, it really is up to us as politicians to explore these kinds of imaginative solutions.

I look forward to hearing more about what comes out of this morning's conference, as key stakeholders join to discuss the options available to communities in Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney.

Finally, a quick reminder about Facebook payday loan campaign - lots of people in Manchester mentioned they'd seen this: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34076138424