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<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>
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