Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Free debt advice to be offered under Scottish Government plans

Post Thumbnail

The Scottish Government has published plans to create a free debt advice system after powers were devolved to Holyrood.

A report published on Saturday outlines its new approach, developed with help from a steering group made up of current advice services and local authorities as part of the Tackling Problem Debt Group (TPDG).

Powers over the funding of such services, known as the debt advice levy, were devolved to Scotland on January 1 this year.

The Tackling Problem Debt Advice report states 14.2% of people in Scotland struggle with problem debts – meaning they find it hard to keep up with paying the money back and covering their bills – and just 20% of those affected seek advice.

It also claims growing numbers of people seeking advice may have contributed to low staff morale and high turnover at current advice services.

Under the outline for the new system, the Scottish Government is seeking to make the process more centred on users and more sustainable in the long-term by providing adequate funding and ensuring the necessary staffing levels.

Under the new “road map”, the Scottish Government has set out nine actions to be taken to ensure debt services work best for Scottish users.

These include driving technological innovation, working with the sector to develop comprehensive workforce planning and the start of multi-year funding pledges – which will allow the services to plan for the future, particularly on staffing levels.

Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “Problem debt can increase stress and strain on families and friendships and it often affects those who are already struggling.

“Sadly, these issues can become a greater strain at Christmastime.

“Early intervention can help mitigate the damaging effects of problem debt but people often delay getting help, or advice providers struggle to meet demand.

“This plan sets out our ambition to create a free debt advice system that responds to the needs of those who seek it, offers more joined up services and has adequate funding to survive and provide high quality services.”

The reshuffle includes the Scottish Government pledging to hold roundtable meetings with providers to streamline services, as well as launching a Scotland-only marketing campaign, to raise public awareness of the services on offer.

The Scottish Government has also pledged to assess projects launched next year “to ensure opportunities and challenges of this new approach are well understood”.