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1059769

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many credit unions have been involved in the Credit Union Expansion Project; and in which region do they operate.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	220111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2019 answer text <p>Over 70 Credit Unions benefited from the Credit Union Expansion Project with products such as an Automated Lending and Decision System. These credit unions operated across England, Wales and Scotland. The Credit Union Expansion Project did not include credit unions in Northern Ireland as the aim of the project was to drive up membership of GB credit unions from a very low base. Across GB less than 1% of the population were members of a credit union at the outset of the project. The situation in Northern Ireland is different with over 26% of the population being members of credit unions. The Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion met with representatives of Northern Ireland credit unions on the 20 July 2018 in Belfast.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 18/02/2019 17:45:45 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1047834

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they give to credit unions.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
	uin	HL13112
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2019 answer text <p>The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced a two-year pilot of a new prize-linked savings scheme offered through credit unions. This will support the credit union sector through increased membership, awareness and deposits, as well as encouraging participants to build up savings to help them cope with financial shocks.</p><p> </p>The Chancellor also announced a new £2 million challenge fund to promote innovative solutions from the UK’s Fintech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions. This follows the success of last year’s Rent Recognition Challenge, where Government backing has supported UK Fintechs to successfully develop and roll out digital solutions for incorporating rental data into credit scores. answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 06/02/2019 12:52:02 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

1036905

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and enable the growth of credit unions.
	tabling member printed	Lord Myners
	uin	HL12547
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced a two-year pilot of a new prize-linked savings scheme offered through credit unions. This will support the credit union sector through increased membership, awareness and deposits, as well as encouraging participants to build up savings to help them cope with financial shocks.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor also announced a new £2 million challenge fund to promote innovative solutions from the UK’s Fintech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions. This follows the success of last year’s Rent Recognition Challenge, where UK Fintechs were invited to develop digital solutions for incorporating rental data into credit scores.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 21/01/2019 15:38:44 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1023107

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What further steps he plans to take to support credit unions.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	908141
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to local communities.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced a package of measures to support the social and community lending sector, including credit unions.</p><p> </p><p>This includes a prize-linked savings scheme for credit unions, simplifying regulation to make it easier for Registered Social Landlords to refer to credit unions, and a challenge fund to create technological solutions for credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/12/2018 17:04:01 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

991171

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the credit union expansion project.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	181556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2018 answer text <p>Government is committed to facilitating sustainable financial services that give consumers greater choice in accessing credit. Credit union membership in Great Britain has increased year-on-year since 2014, rising to around 1.32 million members in 2017; this was an increase of over 150,000 individuals over the 3 year period. It is even more encouraging that credit unions are becoming more popular with junior members; in 2017 there were over 139,000 junior members of credit unions in Great Britain compared to around 128,000 in 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) aims were for participating credit unions to modernise and grow in a financially sustainable way, over time. The contractor aimed to deliver that by enabling credit unions to access a standardised banking service.</p><p>CUEP has delivered an Automated Loans and Decision tool (ALD) used by over 70 credit unions, centralised services such as a standardised front facing website, and that the ALD has allowed credit unions to achieve up to 40% administrative savings on delivering loans and reduce provision for unpaid debt by over £1 million. CUEP also led to a number of credit unions to merge, and others to work together to develop standardised products and deliver local marketing campaigns to increase membership. CUEP contributed to credit unions on the platform to increase the value of loans made.</p><p>Due to the Contractors failure to meet contractual milestones, DWP terminated the CUEP contract on 16<sup>th</sup> February 2018. Whilst the contractor has not met their contractual agreement, they have delivered a banking platform that allows credit union members to receive a range of banking services and benefit from more affordable credit. At the point the contract was terminated the platform was being used by three credit unions with a total of approximately 16.5k members allowing members to benefit from 24 hour online access to their accounts, and receive faster payments on a loan on the same day, usually within 4 hours.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/10/2018 15:11:56 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

923130

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to review the legislation covering credit unions.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL8594
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2018 answer text <p>The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector.</p><p> </p><p>Government engages closely with representatives of the credit union sector throughout the UK to understand how credit unions may best be supported. This includes speaking to Northern Ireland specific trade bodies and maintaining an ongoing relationship with the devolved Department for Economy in Northern Ireland to understand any issues specific to Northern Ireland’s credit union sector.</p><p>Government’s engagement with the credit union sector includes ongoing consideration of its legislative framework. For example, in 2014 Government conducted a Call for Evidence (‘British Credit Unions at 50’) on credit unions. Several respondents asked for changes to the legislation governing credit unions, and in its response, Government committed to actively consider legislative changes in the next Parliament. At Autumn Budget 2017, Government committed to raising the geographical common bond limit for credit unions from 2 to 3 million. This change came into effect in April 2018.</p><p>All changes to credit union legislation must be considered alongside the need to maintain an appropriate regulatory regime for credit unions. A looser legislative framework would likely require increased regulation which might be inappropriate for small, community based institutions.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL8595 question first answered 27/06/2018 14:03:17 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

904830

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve and promote access to credit unions.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton North East
	tabling member printed	Sir David Crausby
	uin	144185
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2018 answer text <p>The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. To improve access to credit unions, government has:</p><p>· In April 2018, announced increased funding for a scheme which incentivises credit union membership in areas at risk of being targeted by loan sharks. This will help vulnerable people to borrow and save with a safe and responsible financial provider, and promote credit unions as an alternative source of credit.</p><p>· At Autumn Budget 2017, announced that the credit union ‘common bond’ limit, which applies to credit unions whose membership is based around a local area, would be raised from 2 to 3 million. This change came into force in April this year, and will allow the larger credit unions to expand and help the sector to consolidate.</p><p>· In 2014, raised the statutory cap on the total interest a credit union can charge on loans from 2 to 3% per month. This has allowed credit unions to expand into new markets, and compete more effectively with other lenders.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 23/05/2018 15:36:15 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	437 label Biography information for Sir David Crausby

867103

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the outcome of the Credit Union Expansion Project.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	133221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2018 answer text <p>The contractor for the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) facilitated access to a standardised banking service. This banking platform allows credit union members to receive a range of banking services and benefit from more affordable credit. The platform is currently used by three credit unions with a total of approximately 16.5k members and allows these members to benefit from 24 hour online access to their accounts, and receive faster payments on a loan on the same day, usually within 4 hours.</p><p> </p><p>CUEP led to a number of credit unions to merge, and others to work together to develop standardised products and deliver local marketing campaigns to increase membership. CUEP also contributed to credit unions on the platform to increase the amount and value of loans made.</p><p>CUEP ended on 16 February 2018 and it is too early to say what effect it had on the credit union sector. It should be noted that the credit union sector has grown over the lifetime of CUEP. As of January 2018, credit unions in Great Britain serve over 1.1 million adult members and have total assets of £1.5 billion and £815m in loans.</p><p>The project will undertake an evaluation as part of the project closure.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 133223 question first answered 27/03/2018 12:48:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

867104

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to publish the accounts of the Credit Union Expansion Project.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	133222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2018 answer text <p>DWP engaged a contractor to deliver the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP). It is the responsibility of the contractor to include any disclosure relating to the project within their accounts.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/03/2018 12:56:03 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

867105

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the Credit Union Expansion Project had on access to finance for people who are financially excluded.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	133223
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2018 answer text <p>The contractor for the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) facilitated access to a standardised banking service. This banking platform allows credit union members to receive a range of banking services and benefit from more affordable credit. The platform is currently used by three credit unions with a total of approximately 16.5k members and allows these members to benefit from 24 hour online access to their accounts, and receive faster payments on a loan on the same day, usually within 4 hours.</p><p> </p><p>CUEP led to a number of credit unions to merge, and others to work together to develop standardised products and deliver local marketing campaigns to increase membership. CUEP also contributed to credit unions on the platform to increase the amount and value of loans made.</p><p>CUEP ended on 16 February 2018 and it is too early to say what effect it had on the credit union sector. It should be noted that the credit union sector has grown over the lifetime of CUEP. As of January 2018, credit unions in Great Britain serve over 1.1 million adult members and have total assets of £1.5 billion and £815m in loans.</p><p>The project will undertake an evaluation as part of the project closure.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 133221 question first answered 27/03/2018 12:48:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury