It has been great to see so many Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) Members across the country over the past few weeks. My ‘regional tour’ started in Birmingham at the end of February when the Midlands Forum was curtailed as a result of Storm Doris! The weather in Glasgow was kinder for my visit to MALG Scotland and the meeting at MALG South East went well until we all heard about the events at Westminster on that afternoon which left us all dumbfounded. A nostalgic trip followed to my birthplace, Liverpool; with my first ever visit inside the iconic Liver Building and yesterday I made my first ever trip to Sunderland where I was met with traditional North Eastern hospitality. I hope to be in Northern Ireland soon to complete the tour!
In all cases, I was met with great commitment, enthusiasm and endeavour to make each of the Regional MALG groups both welcoming and engaging. On the wall of the room where we held the meeting at the CBI in London, there was a quotation: “Let’s explore positive change”, and it struck me that that is exactly what we are aiming to do at both a national and regional level by bringing together advisers and creditors.
MALG Affiliate Membership
As those of you who read my last blog will be aware, we have launched a new membership structure which is designed to widen participation in MALG through a combination of Strategic Membership, National Business Membership and Regional Membership. We are also planning to introduce a fourth strand, Affiliate Membership, shortly. The purpose of this category is to increase our engagement with a wider range of organisations in our sector. We’re talking to regulators, charities, industry bodies and others with related agendas to get them on board. Any suggestions for whom to contact would be very welcome?
Credit Week
Credit Strategy’s Credit Week has included a packed timetable of events including a Parliamentary reception and yesterday’s Credit Summit which our Chair Liz Barclay has been a panellist at. She was involved in debates about credit references and the Standard Financial Statement, looking at access to debt advice.
21 steps vulnerability and debt collection guide
Last week, Liz also launched the University of Bristol Personal Finance Research Centre’s new vulnerability guidance. Read more about it on our website.
MALG Members Meeting sign up reminder Thursday 6 April 10.30-3pm
Please remember that the deadline for confirming your attendance at the MALG Members Meeting on Thursday 6 April is Monday 3rd April. Open to members only, it promises to be an excellent event with a stellar line up of speakers from Which?, Citizens Advice and Toynbee Hall. Please email maria.wadsworth@malg.org.uk to secure your place.
MALG Conference sponsorship and exhibition opportunities
We’re now well under way with attracting sponsorship of the MALG Conference 2017 with Lowell Group already confirmed and several others in the pipeline.
Commercial exhibition stands are available for companies with something interactive to demonstrate at a cost of £2,000 and there will be a small number of stands available for our not-for-profit strategic members at £600 which will be offered on a first come, first served basis. A brochure with more details about all of the sponsorship and exhibition opportunities and benefits is available on request.
The programme for the conference is now also coming together nicely with a series of ‘A’ workshops covering key issues currently facing creditors and money advisers and ‘B’ workshops looking at innovative, game-changing solutions that will shape the future of money advice. There will also be keynote presentations from leading thinkers on key future trends from outside the sector. Watch this space for more info!
Dates for your diary
MALG’s Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 5 July 2017. And don’t forget to save the date for our conference on Monday 27 November!