2020/21

In 2020/21 the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit funded three prevention projects to be run by the Grampian Regional Council for Equality (GREC), West Dunbartonshire Council and West Lothian Council. On 9 December 2020 we held a roundtable discussion with officers from the three projects to find out more about their work and to discuss why prevention is key in the fight against illegal money lending. Watch the discussion below.

2019/20

In 2019/20 the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit funded three prevention projects:

• Save Wise/Money Skills Project (Positive Action in Housing)
• Preventing Illegal Money Lending Project (Wheatley Housing Association)
• Be More Squirrel (Denny & Dunipace CAB)

Each of the projects sought to tackle illegal money ending by using different approaches. These included: raising awareness through staff training; establishing reporting mechanisms; improving financial capability, and increasing household incomes – particularly for those who are most vulnerable. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, all three projects successfully delivered activities that contributed towards reducing the risk of using illegal money lenders.

The Improvement Service has evaluated the three projects – read the evaluation report here.