MALG Community Catch Up: July 2026

MALG Conference 2026 Outline Programme Revealed!

Nobody Left Behind: Driving Systemic Change for People in Debt

We’re very pleased to reveal the outline programme for the MALG Conference 2026 on Thursday 12 November at St George’s Hall Liverpool.

The keynote speaker (sponsored by Bristow & Sutor) will be the amazing Claire McColgan CBE of Liverpool City Council (see her amazing bio here) and we have a fantastic line-up of sessions and other speakers, including:

• ‘Fireside Chat’ with FCA’s Alison Walters
• The Future of Credit Information: Better Data for Better Life Chances (sponsored by Experian)
• From Confusion to Crisis: Tackling Misinformation to Prevent Consumer Harm
• When Difference Costs More: Tackling the Structural Premium on Marginalised Groups
• Regulation Reset: Creating a Credit Market that Works for All
• MALG Members Friday Forum LIVE (sponsored by PRA Group)
• Using AI & Tech to Widen Access to Debt Advice for the Most Excluded Groups (sponsored by Wyser)

Headline Sponsor & Exhibitor: CDER Group

Other Sponsors & Exhibitors confirmed so far:

• Bristow & Sutor
• Dukes Bailiffs
• Experian
• Lantern
• PRA Group
• Wyser
• More to be announced very soon!

National Members Meeting 16 July – one week left to book!

Venue: Arboretum, Leicester Square, London

Theme: Energy

Sessions include:

• Setting the Scene: Energy Debt Challenges and How We Are Tackling Them with Martin Campbell, Head of Vulnerability at Ofgem
• Energy Debt Panel and Q&A
  • Martin Campbell, Ofgem
  • Paul Spence, Energy UK
  • Craig Simmons, Clear Consultancy
  • Helen Beaumont Manahan, National Support Network
• Inclusive Design Challenge with Peter Tyler, Director of Personal Banking, UK Finance
• More than a Knock at the Door – Recovering Debt for the Public Sector (A ‘teach in’ panel session facilitated by Russell Hamblin-Boone, CEO –  CIVEA)
  • Amy Collins, CIVEA and Rundles & Co
  • Carole Kenney, CDER Group
  • Tom Clark, Liverpool City Council

Please note: Invitations for both the National Members Meeting and the AGM (which will take place in the middle of the Meeting) have been issued separately. You must register for one or both to be eligible to attend and receive joining instructions. Bookings will close on 14 July 2026.

The Autumn National Members Meeting will be on Thursday 1 October 2026, via Zoom – please note change of original date.

Other Upcoming Meetings

Regional Meetings:

• Face-to-Face MALG East Anglia, 14 July, Hay’s Recruitment offices in London: ‘Money and Mental Health’ – invitations have been sent, bookings close 10 July 2026, email info@malg.org.uk if you have not received and want to attend.
• Face-to-Face MALG Scotland, 20 August, venue and agenda details to follow – save the date.

Find out more about our Regional Groups, including key contacts for each, here.
Friday Forum (sponsored by PRA Group): Join us for a fortnightly drop-in session at 10-11am to discuss the latest issues you’re facing with professionals from across the whole debt landscape. A new password for the next session will be distributed to eligible Members, please keep an eye out for this in your inbox.

Upcoming Friday Forum dates:

• 17 July
• 31 July
• 14 August
• 28 August

If you have not received invitations for any MALG events and think you are eligible, please contact info@malg.org.uk.

Resources: Safe and Effective Use of Generative AI in Debt Advice

We’ve now submitted the final report to Money & Pensions Service about the outcomes and impact of MALG-backed research that was carried out by Wyser AI earlier this year exploring safe and effective self-serve in regulated debt advice in the Generative AI era.

We’re already planning how this research could be taken further and applied to other sectors within the debt ecosystem. In the meantime, we encourage all our Members and wider organisations to use the valuable resources that have been created including the Safe Use Framework for Generative AI in Debt Advice, which provides an easy-to-implement Roadmap. There’s also a Debt Advice Adviser Capability and AI Guide, and a Data Preparation Guide, as well as a bank of useful templates.

Please do let us know if you are using the resources and what impact they are having.

New Members

Welcome to the newest organisations to join the MALG community – Charis Grants, Navigate Charity, ResolveCall Ltd and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council.

Podcast Highlights

We’re taking a break from the MALG Podcast while we find a Sponsor to fund it (please email peg.alexander@malg.org.uk if interested!) but please don’t forget that there’s a rich library of content there for you to listen to at your own pace.

Highlights from the first 17 episodes include:

• Isobel Crosse, Head of Financial Care at Santander, on balancing banking customer needs with what is considered, on paper, good customer outcomes in 2025/6.
• Vivi Friedgut of Blackbullion on Gen Z money management, from busting the myth that they have no attention span, to challenging the idea that AI can offer meaningful financial education.
• Genevieve Orford of Policy in Practice on the power of partnerships – why they’re so important, when they work, and what the potential challenges are.
• Professor Sharon Collard and Eileen Tipoe on behavioural economics and how it plays out in the social media/digital world.
• Mark Pearce of Wyser on safe and effective use of generative AI for debt advice.

Member Collaboration Spotlight: Credit Services Association language barriers report

The Credit Services Association’s new report on language barriers was sparked directly by a conversation at a recent MALG Scotland Meeting, where speakers and attendees highlighted how often customers struggle to engage with creditors simply because the right words aren’t available to them.

That discussion exposed a clear gap in consistent, practical guidance across the sector, prompting CSA to investigate the issue in depth. The resulting report now gives organisations a shared evidence base and actionable recommendations to help ensure that people in debt aren’t disadvantaged by language, literacy or communication challenges: A perfect example of MALG collaboration turning real‑world insight into sector‑wide improvement.