Last month, AdviceUK launched our PRESS PAUSE campaign, calling on the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to pause its procurement process for debt advice in England.
We are pleased to report that MaPS has listened and that on 17 December 2021 it announced that it would not be proceeding with its procurement of regional debt advice services in England. Instead, it will offer a short-term grant for three months to the organisations that it currently funds, and then put in place a longer-term grant for a minimum of 12 months.
David Hawkes, AdviceUK’s Policy and Campaigns Co-ordinator said: “This will be very welcome news to those AdviceUK members who receive MaPS funding and to the many vulnerable people in England who depend upon face-to-face debt advice. However, many questions remain. The procurement process has left a lot of anger and uncertainty within the debt advice sector. In the coming months, AdviceUK will be working with our members and external stakeholders to develop a new vision of debt advice, one that provides for a sustainable future that meets the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
