Venue: Committee Room 5, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services: - 636923
No. | Item |
---|---|
Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests. Minutes: In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, the following interests were declared: Andrew Davies, Co-Opted Member declared a personal interest in Minute 28 “Draft Promoting Affordable Credit Policy”. |
|
To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved that the Minutes of the Poverty Reduction Policy Development Committees held on 30 September 2019 and 18 November 2019 be approved and signed as a correct record. |
|
Presentation - Draft Promoting Affordable Credit Policy. Minutes: The Chair outlined the work that the
Committee had already undertaken during their working group meetings. She stated that once the draft outline Policy
had been agreed by the Committee, it would be forwarded to Cabinet to seek
agreement for the draft Policy to go out for public consultation. The Tackling Poverty Service Manager provided a presentation
outlining the following: 1. Introduction Borrowing was a
necessity for many residents. High cost
credit companies target those who might have poor credit and low financial
resilience. This could lead to
over-indebtedness, default and insolvency, as residents might take on too much
high cost credit. A number of residents targeted by high-cost
credit providers might also be vulnerable and we had a particular duty to
ensure they were supported to make well-informed borrowing choices. The Swansea Tackling
Poverty Strategy states our vision of a Swansea in which: ·
Income
poverty is not a barrier to doing well at school, having a healthy and vibrant
life, developing skills and qualifications and having a fulfilling occupation. ·
Residents
maximise their income and get the most out of their money. ·
Residents
avoid paying the ‘Poverty Premium’, the extra costs people on low incomes must
pay for essentials such as fuel and transport. Welsh Government’s Financial Inclusion
Strategy (2016) promotes financial inclusion for all residents in Wales. The overall aim is to provide
information and advice and to ensure residents have access
to appropriate and affordable financial services. 2. Definitions High Cost Lending includes: ·
High-cost
short-term credit ·
High-cost
unsecured loans aimed at poor credit customers ·
Guarantor
Loans ·
Door
step loans / home collected cash loans e.g. Provident ·
Pay-day
loans e.g. Quick Quid ·
Logbook
loans / V5 Car loan ·
Pawnbroking ·
Rent-to-own
e.g. Bright House It could also include: ·
Unregulated
lenders e.g. Loan Sharks Affordable Credit features include: ·
Credit
products with affordable repayments ·
Clear
cost of credit stated ·
Affordability
checks undertaken ·
Responsible lending ·
Build the financial capacity of the borrower ·
Ethical, affordable and accessible credit
products 3. Policy Statement Swansea Council aims
to: 1)
End
the targeting of high cost credit, 2)
Prevent
high cost borrowing 3)
Promote
access to more equitable and affordable credit. Therefore, we will: ·
Promote,
encourage and support the take up of free and impartial debt advice, through: ·
a) general campaigns,
and ·
b) a proactive offer
whenever a resident discloses that they are in financial difficulty ·
Commit
to work with Swansea Credit Union/s. ·
Promote
and establish Credit Union collection points where possible. ·
Promote
and encourage membership of the Credit Union to new and existing council
tenants ·
Promote
and encourage membership of the Credit Union to new and existing staff. ·
Block
payday loan sites on council computers and public access computers and signpost
to Swansea Credit Union/s, Citizen’s Advice and Money Advice Service. ·
Promote
the Financial Conduct Authority register of regulated lenders on the Council
website (https://register.fca.org.uk/). ·
Promote
reporting of any loan shark activities to the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit
and Swansea Trading Standards. ·
Provide
Loan Shark Awareness training to staff and County Councillors. 4. Action Plan and Monitoring This policy would
be implemented through a three year Action Plan, reviewed annually in
January. The
Action Plan would set out how officers and members would ensure delivery
against the commitments listed in the above policy statement. It might
also include additional actions which were considered timely and relevant to
this policy. The
Committee discussed the following: ·
Whether
community hubs could be utilised in order to promote advice for residents; ·
Although
the Policy had not technically been co-produced, considerable information and
feedback had been utilised to create the policy; ·
A
glossary of the technical wording would be helpful; ·
Need
SMART targets so outcomes could be monitored and evaluated; ·
Need
to increase the public’s knowledge of Credit Unions as an alternative source of
borrowing and promote their benefits; ·
Whether
other bodies such as Swansea Public Services Board should also sign up to the
Policy. It was acknowledged
that consultation would need to be undertaken with all relevant bodies prior to
the Policy being adopted. Resolved that: 1)
The
presentation be noted; 2)
A
Draft Promoting Affordable Credit Policy proceed to Cabinet. |
|
Work Plan 2019-2020. PDF 126 KB Minutes: The Chair presented the Work Plan ‘for information’. |