"Our funding envelope for debt advice in England has increased to £76 million – 80% more than pre-pandemic – but we have a big challenge to meet."
Following an evaluation of all the bids received, MaPS intends – subject to the conclusion of the mandatory ten-day standstill period – to award contracts to new organisations to provide national and business debt advice, and administration of debt relief orders (DROs). These three-year contracts will be signed after the conclusion of the standstill period and will be effective from 1 February 2023.
National debt advice services will be provided by Gregory Pennington Limited, The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, and Money Advice Trust. Money Advice Trust will also provide business debt advice services and Gregory Pennington and the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux will offer DROs.
MaPS currently funds debt advice for around 240,000 people via telephone, digital, business debt and DRO unit services. In year one of the newly commissioned services, MaPS expects to see a 65% increase in capacity and that, by year three, these services will have the capacity to support more than 650,000 people.
Once the new contracts and the grants are live, MaPS will be investing £76m per year into debt advice services, an 80% increase compared with 2019.
CEO of MaPS, Caroline Siarkiewicz, said: “We know that debt advice works and has a transformative impact on people's lives. This is why I am delighted that through these new contracts, working alongside ongoing community-based debt advice services, we will be able to provide more expert, free of charge debt advice than ever before.
“Our funding envelope for debt advice in England has increased to £76 million – 80% more than pre-pandemic – but we have a big challenge to meet. We know that the number of people needing debt advice will increase over the months and years ahead, so taking a different approach to how we commission debt advice was essential.
“As we go forward, our collective focus will remain on the people who need our help: supporting a seamless transition for those already partway through their debt advice journey, and that anyone beginning to struggle with bills and payments knows that expert help is available to them. And we’ll support both our existing and our new suppliers to make sure that advisers are supported through this transition.
“I would like to thank all of the organisations who have participated in this commissioning process. We recognise the considerable time and effort this takes. All of these organisations, as well as others we have funded in the past, continue to provide excellent debt advice and help many people, and remain invaluable stakeholders for MaPS.”
