Following the recent announcement that Clear Consultancy Services is working on an Impact on Urban Health-funded project to explore how energy companies could address problem debt by understanding the experiences of people in arrears (read more here), Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) Members are being invited to take part in the qualitative phase of the research.
Lead researchers Francis McGee and Craig Simmons of Clear Consultancy Services will be joining the MALG Friday Forum on 26 July 2024 at 10am to gather insights on the experiences of MALG Members and are particularly keen to hear from as many front-line client-facing advice participants as possible.
These qualitative insights, alongside structured interviews with debt advice providers and other stakeholders, will directly shape their research recommendations. Using the evidence, the project will establish what a fairer funding model could be and how it could be delivered.
Francis and Craig will provide a short introduction to the project and invite attendees to freely share their insights. They’ll be asking MALG Members about their experiences around things like:
- Trends in the debts they’re seeing, focusing on energy and other priority debts
- Any particular client circumstances or vulnerabilities that they often see alongside energy debts
- How rising energy debts is affecting advisers – for example providing different kinds of support for clients
- How rising energy debts is affecting advice services – for example new demand management challenges, new training for advisers, referrals to and from different services
- What it’s like dealing with energy companies, compared to other creditors – the good and the less good and what advisers would like to see change
- What advisers would like energy firms to do differently, and what they think debt advice might do differently
- Whether they get any funding from energy companies and how those relationships work
If you would like to take part in the session, simply join the MALG Friday Forum on 26 July 2024 at 10am using the usual password and Zoom link. Please email info@malg.org.uk with any issues.