The Government are today publishing a document, “Financial inclusion: the way forward”, setting out general principles for its ongoing financial inclusion strategy.

The Government have three goals for financial inclusion:

that everyone should be able to manage their money effectively and securely, through having access to a bank account, and the confidence and capability to get the most from it;

that everyone should be able to plan for the future with a reasonable degree of security. Therefore, affordable credit, simple insurance products should be available to all who need them; and

that everyone should have the information, support and confidence they need to prevent avoidable financial difficulty, and to know where to turn if they do find themselves in financial distress.

“Financial inclusion: the way forward” affirms the Government's commitment to promoting financial inclusion in the next spending period. From 2008 to 2011, financial inclusion policy will be supported through a new Financial Inclusion Fund. While the amount of the fund will be determined after the Comprehensive Spending Review, the current level of intensity of action to promote financial inclusion will be maintained.

A detailed action plan will be developed by a cross-Departmental ministerial working group, which will report after the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce, which monitors progress and advises the Government on financial inclusion policy, will be extended until March 2011.

The document also announces further spending on financial inclusion in 2007-08; £6 million will be made available to the Department for Work and Pensions, to support credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions in making affordable credit and banking services available to financially excluded consumers.

The document details progress made to date with financial inclusion objectives. The Government agreed a goal, shared with the banks, to halve the number of people living without access to a bank account. The number of adults living in households without access to a bank account fell from 2.8 million in 2002-03, to 2 million in 2005-06. The number of unbanked households also fell, from 1.9 million to 1.3 million, during the same period. Steady progress is being made with Government's shared goal.

The document announces the Government's continued commitment to working with banks and other financial services providers to reduce the number of unbanked people further, and to promote wider financial inclusion. The Government have asked senior representatives from the banking sector to work with the Financial Inclusion Taskforce to consider how to achieve a nationwide increase in the coverage and capacity of third sector lenders such as credit unions.

As announced in the 2006 pre-Budget Report, the Government asked Brian Pomeroy, Chair of the Financial Inclusion Taskforce, to conduct a review of Christmas savings clubs and hamper schemes. Following the collapse of Farepak in November 2006, the purpose of this review was to increase understanding of who uses these schemes and why, and also to consider how the saving needs of this group of consumers might be better met by mainstream financial products. The review is published today by the Treasury.

The Government have responded to the recommendations made in the review in today's financial inclusion document. Its response includes an announcement that the Department of Trade and Industry has secured agreement from the hamper industry to establish an industry-led scheme to ensure that consumers' interests are fully protected. The scheme will establish secure, ring-fenced accounts, and will be implemented as soon as possible.

The Government also announce that £1 million will be made available to the Office of Fair Trading to run a consumer awareness campaign. This campaign will inform consumers of the options available to them, including mainstream accounts, for saving towards Christmas.

Other responses to the Pomeroy review from the Government were as follows:

the OFT has agreed to investigate the findings of the Pomeroy review in full, and whether a further inquiry into competition in the market for Christmas saving schemes is needed;

following encouragement and support from the Government, credit unions are now offering Christmas saving accounts with a lock-in. The Post Office also has plans to launch a Christmas saving account. The Government have asked the Financial Inclusion Taskforce to monitor developments, and consider what further detailed actions are needed to expand community-based provision of saving;

the Thoresen review of a national approach to generic financial advice will consider how to provide better generic advice on informal saving;

the Government's financial inclusion campaign, “now let's talk money”, is working with local charities and community organisations to promote credit unions as an alternative to hamper schemes;

the FSA will enhance the saving information on its MoneyMadeClear website by including information about Christmas hamper schemes; and

the new Wealth and Assets Survey will collect information on informal saving. The Government will use the first results of the survey, due by the end of the year, to inform any further data gathering.

The Treasury Committee conducted an inquiry into financial inclusion in the spring of 2006, and published three reports detailing its findings, in November and December 2006. The Government have sent their response to the inquiry to the Treasury Committee today.

Copies of both “Financial inclusion: the way forward” and the Pomeroy review of Christmas savings are available in the Vote Office and in the Library of the House.