Financial education provision criticised
(02 February 2007)

Financial education provision for young people is "abysmal", a politician said at the Great Debt Debate today.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by five key figures from the financial industry, the Liberal Democrat shadow economic affairs spokesperson, Dr Vincent Cable, stated that things are happening "slowly".

He said: "The level of financial education at the moment is abysmal, poor and very patchy.

"There are some very good courses - but they are covering a tiny area of the student population."

Mark Hoban, MP for Fareham and shadow financial secretary to the treasury, added that more needs to be done to give young people an understanding of handling their money as well as various financial products and interest rates.

He said that there are, however, some independent support services available, such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service and Citizens Advice.

Meanwhile, Melanie Giles, an insolvency practitioner, said that women tend to be more aware than men are of the ins and outs of household budgeting.

"So many people don't do the simple maths of how much money is going into a household and how much is going out," she said.