Financial exclusion and the pandemic: With Mick McAteer (Financial Inclusion Centre), Sian Williams (Toynbee Hall), Christine Allison (SWIG Finance) and Jason Wassell (CCTA)

Why you should watch: We may be only at the beginning of the pain that Covid is going to cause, in that many of the supports that government has put in place are about to be phased out - notably furlough schemes and eviction protection, but, further down the line, loan guarantees. What happens next? This discussion emphasises the need to maintain universal credit uplift and other benefits. But it also looks at the masking of credit records (a big problem for the alternative credit industry) and the pernicious impact of CCJs. A lot to chew on - and a much less optimistic outlook than one might expect simply by looking at the GDP bounce.

Moderator: Andrew Hilton (Director, CSFI)

Panellists:

Mick McAteer is the founder and co-director of the Financial Inclusion Centre, chair of Z2K and a director of 3R Insights. He is a former Board member of the FCA, the Caritas Advisory Board and ShareAction, as well as being principal policy advisor at Which? for many years.

Sian Williams is Director of Policy and Innovation at Toynbee Hall, and a Board member of the Financial Inclusion Forum. She is a former trustee of the Money Advice Trust.

Christine Allison is Chair of SWIG Finance, which funds small businesses in the SW. She is a former head of project development at the Devon School for Social Entrepreneurs, head of policy at Plan International and a senior staff member at the World Bank in Washington for many years. She is also the CSFI's Financial Inclusion Fellow.

Jason Wassell is CEO at the Consumer Credit Trade Association, which incorporated the Consumer Finance Association (of which he was also CEO) at the beginning of this year.

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Produced/Edited by Alex Treptow