Meeting of the Parliament 17 September 2019
That is why our approach needs to be about more than just working with the credit unions. As Andy Wightman pointed out, we need that broader approach and we need to work out how we can influence others so that they understand what they stand to gain if they work alongside credit unions.
Many members asked about the £10 million fund. There is limited detail that I can give at the moment. However, I pledge that we will keep Parliament updated on that, because the fund will provide a significant boost to credit unions. It will continue to grow their membership and increase the wellbeing of our communities and our most vulnerable people in financial and health terms. Alongside breaking down the barriers to responsible lending by improving balance sheets, we need to make sure that the strategy does not end up just doing more of the same. It needs to be innovative, so that the £10 million has an impact on our communities.
There has been a real plea from credit unions for us to understand their need for more support in IT and digital development, and I think that that will be a prominent theme in the work on the strategy. I also recognise that we need to take action alongside theorising about the strategy. Lots of members have talked about many different ideas, including payroll deduction, fair work practices, working with young people and working with colleges. We can use those different ideas to work out what short, medium and longer-term actions we can take to grow the credit union movement in a much more sustainable way.
I am pleased that there is consensus and a lot of good ideas on the issue. I will continue to work with members, with the cross-party group that Ruth Maguire spoke about and with the sector, because we all agree on the importance of credit unions and we all want to make the strategy a success. That is a strong platform, and I will work on it with members and with the Parliament.