Citizens Advice welcomes chancellor’s review

The Citizens Advice charity has welcomed chancellor Alistair Darling’s spending review, in which he pledged to continue support for the Financial Inclusion Fund.

According to the organisation, the fund has helped it to recruit more advisors to help the many thousands of people in England and Wales who are struggling to deal with mounting debt management pressures.

While welcoming the announcement, Citizens Advice has also highlighted the extent of the problem of rising levels of personal debts in the UK, noting that it has seen record numbers of people approaching its staff for debt advice.

Mr Darling remarked: “Building on the good progress achieved so far, today’s pre-budget report and comprehensive spending review announces the continuation of the Financial Inclusion Fund at £130 million for the next spending period.

“The new fund will include continuing support for financial inclusion initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable people with problem debt.”

Over the course of last year more than 1.4 million UK consumers approached Citizens Advice about debt, according to the organisation’s own figures.