Meeting of the Parliament 17 September 2019
Absolutely. We will take on board any views and opinions from across the chamber on what the strategy should include. We will engage with the more rural credit unions. I have met representatives of the Western Isles Credit Union, which I think covers some of the northern isles, who told me about some of the challenges that they face and about the credit union’s strengths and what it provides for the community. I am absolutely willing to ensure that rural and island communities are factored into the strategy as it takes shape.
It is important that we reflect the voices and views of the credit unions, part of whose strength is their diversity and the way in which they not only reflect but are embedded in the communities that they serve. We are keen to develop a coherent strategy that seeks to further strengthen and grow credit unions in Scotland, but we recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach is not required. That is why partnership, co-production and engagement with the sector in its widest sense are important.
I look forward to working with members across the chamber on what I think is a shared ambition, regardless of which political party we represent. By supporting credit unions, which unashamedly put people before profit, we have a real opportunity to support vulnerable people and communities. Our national performance framework seeks to create a Scotland based on the principles of kindness, respect and dignity, with a focus on wellbeing. Credit unions will help us in the pursuit of the fairer Scotland that we all want to create.
I move,
That the Parliament commends Scotland’s network of credit unions, which are at the heart of communities across the country and serve more than 410,000 people; welcomes that, through offering affordable loans and savings, credit unions can protect people from predatory lenders and unmanageable debt; notes the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government commitment to introduce a new £10 million Credit Union Investment Fund to help them grow their membership and increase the numbers of people saving and borrowing from credit unions, and further notes that the Scottish Government will co-produce, with the credit union sector, a national strategy to further grow and strengthen this important sector.
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