Delivering Financial Inclusion

  1. Funding
  2. Funding programmes
  3. Delivering Financial Inclusion

We’re matching funds from the European Social Fund, one of the European Structural Fund's programmes, for services across Scotland to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion.

Area
Scotland
Total available
£16.3 million
Application deadline

This programme is closed to applications

What's it all about?

Working in five local authorities this funding will bring both European Social Fund and our National Lottery funds together to support some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged households by bringing improved money management skills and ensuring debt is less of a barrier to social inclusion.

This is not an open grant programme. Delivery partners were appointed after an open procurement process in the five areas, services commenced in spring 2017 and will run until February 2020.

We know that increasing an individual’s financial capacity can be an effective tool to tackle poverty as it supports people to increase their income and reduce their outgoings.

We are providing £9.5 m of National Lottery funding, with a further £6.9 million of funding coming from the

. We will be responsible for managing the funds and procuring services to support individual projects and services.

We expect the activity we support to increase the financial capacity of the most disadvantaged individuals and households in the areas where they are based.

Who delivered the programme?

Delivering Financial Inclusion funding provided support for thousands of people in disadvantaged circumstances – including people in low-income, lone-parent or workless households in Argyll and Bute, Dundee City, Glasgow, Inverclyde and North Ayrshire.

Across these five local authorities the services delivered brought improved money management skills and ensuring debt is less of a barrier to social inclusion.

Argyll and Bute - lead partner Argyll and Bute Council - £3,753,495 (£3.8M)
The Money Skills Argyll service provided a bespoke package of measures to equip eligible participants with the skills, knowledge and support to decrease debts and increase their money skills.

Dundee City - lead partner Dundee City Council - £2,973,267 (£3M)
A city wide service offering those people experiencing difficulties support and advice in relation to debt and money management including, welfare benefits, debt, fuel and energy management. In addition the service took a preventative approach to financial problems and improve wellbeing for those effected by money management issues.

Glasgow - lead partner Wheatley Group - £4,235.820 (£4.2M)
Working with partners, this work provided a holistic early intervention and prevention service, to improve money management, tackle debt as social inclusion barrier, develop financial resilience and offer wider support to prevent money crisis.

Inverclyde - lead partner Inverclyde Council - £2,327,076 (£2.3M)
The I:DEAS project (Inverclyde: Delivering Effective Advice & Support) had a focus on financial education rather than a crisis model and a focus on prevention to equip eligible participants with the skills and tools needed to avoid financial crisis in the future.

North Ayrshire - lead partner North Ayrshire Council - £2,998,689 (£3M)
The Better Off North Ayrshire partnership provided services not only to help people overcome a crisis but to assist people on their financial inclusion journey by maintaining early relationships with them and by helping people build their capability.

SCOTLAND TOTAL - £16,288,345 (£16.3M)