Money Week To Come To Fermanagh
Thursday 21 January 2010
Consumers of all ages in the Fermanagh area are set to benefit from ‘Money Week’ from 6 -12 March 2010, a special week-long initiative designed to help people develop the skills and confidence to manage their money.
The plans were announced today by the Financial Capability Partnership, which is chaired by the Consumer Council and which is organising Money Week together with Fermanagh District Council. Events during the week will include seminars, workshops and presentations to help people budget effectively, save for a rainy day and discover where to get help with money worries.
Pictured are Julie McCurley, Head of Money Affairs at the Consumer Council and Frank Britton, Vice Chair of Fermanagh District Council.
Kicking off the week will be a special ‘Money Market’ event, where the educational bodies, advice agencies, banks, buildings societies and credit unions that make up the Financial Capability Partnership, will ‘set out their stall’ of information and resources produced to help consumers take control of their finances.
Antoinette McKeown, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council said: “Northern Ireland has been found to have the lowest levels of financial capability in the UK[1]. The Financial Capability Partnership, which is funded by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is trying to tackle this problem with targeted initiatives like Money Week.
“Studies have identified Fermanagh as one of the areas in Northern Ireland which suffers greatest levels of deprivation, and given the very difficult year it has been for consumers, we felt it was the perfect location for Money Week. We look forward to engaging directly with consumers in the area to offer them budgeting and money management support. We are grateful to Fermanagh District Council for showing such enthusiasm in hosting Money Week and look forward to working together in the months ahead.”
Frank Britton, Vice Chair of Fermanagh District Council, added: “This is a great opportunity for our constituents to receive face-to-face information and support from experts in managing money. It has been a very tough year for people in this area with extreme flooding followed by a bitterly cold winter and water shortages. These challenges have put extra strain on pockets which were already under considerable pressure due to the recession. We are very pleased to work with the Financial Capability Partnership and urge all our constituents to make the most of the opportunity and attend as many events during Money Week as possible.”
The Financial Capability Partnership will announce the full schedule of Money Week events next month.
Notes to editor
The Consumer Council leads the Northern Ireland Financial Capability Partnership which brings together government, banks, building societies, credit unions, the education and community sectors to ensure that we all help consumers to manage their money and make it work best for them. The Partnership is funded as part of the National Strategy for Financial Capability led by the Financial Services Authority.
- Consumer Council media contact: Keelin Kelly, telephone, 028 9067 4807 or e-mail, kkelly@consumercouncil.org.uk
- The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland’s consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
- For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
[1] Managing Money: How does Northern Ireland add up? 2007, The Consumer Council, (A research report based on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) UK Baseline Survey)
