Debt - recent activity

Debt remains a major issue for CAB clients. CAS is a member of the Scottish Parliament and Westminster cross-party cross-parliamentary group on tackling debt and we also work in partnership with Debt on our Doorstep.

We have recently been doing a lot of work in relation to the Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill and welcome the Executive's intention to amend the debt arrangement scheme to allow debt relief.

Other recent work includes:

• Gaining an amendment to the new Consumer Credit Bill on an anomaly in the existing legislation - relating to time orders - that disadvantages Scottish debtors. CAS also produced a briefing calling for regular statements for short-term loans.  As a result, there has been a Ministerial acknowledgement that lenders need to improve the standards of illegible and incomplete payment books.
• CAS was the only advice agency invited to sit on the Scottish Governnment's Working Group on Debt Relief. The group's report will feed into the Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill.  CAS contributed research conducted by bureaux on debt clients with no income and no assets.
• CAS was invited to contribute an article on financial exclusion to the Poverty Alliance's 'Poverty Report Card'.

Following publication of our evidence report on debt, On the cards, and the accompanying briefing sheet, CAS had produced six follow-up briefing sheets which explore the results in more detail.  These focus on creditor behaviour , low income clients , disabled clients , young clients , older clients and lone parent clients .