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Foodbank - copyright Jeff Blackler/REX
UK News

Christian foodbanks to offer money advice

A new pilot scheme by the The Trussell Trust will mean some of its branches will also have financial information available.

The new programme has been announced as a report shows that more than one in ten UK families have taken out a pay day loan to make ends meet in the last year (12%) and a quarter (24%) of UK families have fallen into debt to be able to provide for the family.

Over 900,000 people received three days' emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks in 2013/14 financial year, 163% more than the previous year.

David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive said: "It's deeply concerning that the basics of dignified life in modern Britain - food, heat and electricity - can fall out of reach for so many.

"High prices, static incomes, problems with benefits and harsh welfare sanctioning are forcing people into extreme financial difficulty.

"When you're facing stark choices between eviction or feeding the family, debt and high interest loans can seem to offer a short term solution, the reality is that this often forces finances to spiral out of control.
 
"By introducing a 'financial triage' service in foodbanks, where clients are able to connect with free financial and debt advice, people will be given professional help to manage tight finances, avoid pay day lenders and structure debt to prevent the situation from getting worse and to help people break out of crisis much faster."

Meanwhile, a new report says around 2.5 million children across England and Wales are living in families owing nearly £5 billion in bills and loans.

Christian charity the Children's Society's released a breakdown of the figures by parliamentary constituency showing the worst areas affected by debt.

The study highlights how many families in each region are failing to keep up with household bills and loan repayments. It also estimates how many local children are living in families with problem debt.

It also shows by how much struggling families are behind on payments, on average across each region, and the estimated total debt owed by all families in each area.

Francis Walker debt charity Step Change which also worked on the study spoke on Premier's News Hour, she said: "The children that we were talking; to it certainly creates great levels of worry at a young age when most children should be stress free".

Francis Walker, Step Change:

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