MP demands action “urgently” as campaign group identifies “more pressure than ever before”

Scottish Labour today renewed calls on the SNP to release £1 million of new funds to money advice centres who help Scots in debt.

On today’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the head of campaigns for Shelter warned that that Citizens Advice and similar organisations were “under more pressure than ever before”.

The call comes a week to the day since the Labour Government provided £10 million of funds for money advice – of which £1 million will come to Scotland.

Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, demanded that the money be provided to money advice services “urgently”.

“It is clear that organisations helping Scots in debt need extra funding. Labour has recognised that, and the SNP must now do so urgently.

“The SNP must use this additional funding provided to them to support advice to individuals and families. It would be a scandal if this extra money for Scotland was diverted to support other SNP projects."

Supporting the move, Mary Mulligan MSP said:

"The SNP have a perfect opportunity to assist people with debt problems by using the £1m consequential from Westminster to go to money advice agencies.

"The UK Government are providing £10 million to Citizens Advice Bureaux in England And Wales to increase advice services and the SNP have £1m for similar services in Scotland. It is time for the SNP to pass that funding on to money advice agencies to provide support to people in Scotland."

1 December 2008

NOTES

Transcript from GMS - 8.35am Mon 1st December 2008

Shelter’s Head of Campaigns, James Jopling:  “….customers can seek independent advice before any legal action is started, and that means the opportunity hopefully to speak to someone like Citizens Advice or Shelter or other organisations. But the thing to remember is we are organisations under more pressure than ever before, so it’s all very well to make that commitment in words but you know we need to think about what support organisations need to provide that advice.”