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Tell us about financial support in Scotland

20 March 2026

We’re developing new funding programmes with money from the Dormant Assets Scheme Scotland.

Part of this funding will focus on financial inclusion. By this we mean, helping people:

  • access and use the financial services they need
  • learn about money to make informed decisions about their finances
  • prepare and cope with unexpected issues that impact finances  

To help us develop this funding, we want to hear from organisations that work with people who:

  • experience financial crisis
  • cannot access or use financial services
  • have problem debt - this is debt that they cannot manage or repay without difficulty
  • cannot access fair and affordable credit 

We’d also like to talk to organisations that prevent financial exclusion through education and support.

A man and woman sat at a table in an office having a conversation.

What we want to learn about

Financial crisis support

By financial crisis we mean someone that:

  • cannot pay for a large unexpected cost, like needing to fix a household appliance
  • suddenly cannot afford essential living costs

For example, they lose their job and cannot pay for housing, food, energy or bills.

We want to understand more about the support available to people experiencing financial crisis. If you work in this area, tell us:

  • what works well
  • what does not work well
  • if there are gaps in support, especially for people who have low or insecure incomes

Financial exclusion support

By financial exclusion we mean someone that cannot access or use financial services. For example, they may not have:

  • a bank account
  • access to credit
  • savings
  • insurance
  • access to reliable money advice

If you work with people experiencing financial exclusion, tell us what would help people access and use the financial services they need.

Access to affordable credit and debt support

We want to understand more about people’s experiences of:

  • accessing fair and affordable credit
  • having debt that they cannot manage or repay without difficulty

Some people cannot access fair and affordable credit so they rely on credit with high-interest rates like:

  • payday loans – short-term loans for small amounts of money
  • home credit or doorstep loans – when a lender comes to your home to collect repayments

If you work with people who cannot access affordable credit or have problem debt, tell us:

  • about their experiences of problem debt and access to credit
  • what would help them access fair and affordable credit

Contact us

Email us to tell us about financial support by 13 May 2026 scotlandprogrammedevelopment@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.

You can also ask to join an online sessions to talk about financial support with other organisations.

About the Dormant Assets Scheme Scotland

We’ve distributed Dormant Assets (previously Dormant Accounts) funding since 2012. This funding comes from financial accounts that have not been used in over 15 years. It can only be used for projects which are additional to Scottish Government funded activity.

We’ve distributed up to £75 million of Dormant Assets funding to help children and young people. Find out more about our Young Start funding programmes:

The Scottish Government have set new priorities for the funding, so we can also support:

  • financial inclusion and affordable credit
  • mental health and wellbeing
  • poverty and inequality

We'll be working with organisations across Scotland over the next year to understand these areas.

For more information, read about the: