Schools step in to tackle debt crisis in young

GROWING numbers of school pupils are getting lessons in how to manage money to help stop mounting debt problems among young Scots.

Citizens’ Advice Bureaus are setting up more partnerships with schools in an effort to tackle the issue with one in three young Scots now owing more than £5,000.

This week Dr Alasdair Allan, the learning and skills minister, visited a scheme in Orkney where CAB staff are working with pupils across the islands.

Chief executive of Citizens Advice Scotland Lucy McTernan said it is just one of a growing number of CABs now working with schools in this way.

Similar schemes operate in Roxburgh, Musselburgh, Nairn, Inverness and North Lanarkshire and others are also planned.

Ms McTernan said: “Orkney CAB told the minister that one third of the cases they dealt with last year were related to debt. And that picture is reflected across every CAB in Scotland.

“Unfortunately it is also the case that many of those worst affected were young people. One in three young Scots now owes more than £5,000.

“That’s why Orkney CAB is reaching out to the local schools to help increase financial awareness and many other CABs are doing similar projects in their communities.

“This is vital work. We need a concerted effort to make sure that schools, parents, community groups and government agencies are all committed to making sure that young Scots understand how to manage their finances before they leave school and start their adult life.”

She said the government has to play a role in helping young people: “Dr Allan is after all the minister for ‘learning and skills’. Well, money management is a skill. And ‘learning’ mustn’t just be about job training and apprenticeships – important though those are.

“His definition of ‘learning’ has to include teaching people how to budget, how to save, how to prioritise bill payments, and in particular the consequences of getting into debt.

“By working with schools and other organisations we can save people from that misery.”

Manager of Orkney CAB Alison Gunn said her office dealt with 1,706 debt enquiries, 30 per cent of its total annual workload.She said: “That’s an unprecedented rate, and reflects the huge scale of the problem locally.

“While debt affects people from all age groups, we are particularly concerned at the numbers of young people we are seeing, many of whom are starting their adult lives with huge debts.

“It is alarming to think that people as young as 20 are facing bankruptcy as their only option, but unfortunately this is the reality.

“In an increasingly complex financial world of store cards, mobile phone tariffs, credit agreements and financial marketing it is crucial that young people in Orkney have the knowledge and ability to make responsible financial decisions.”

She said the key to solving the problem is increasing financial awareness.

“That’s why we are reaching out to work with the local schools, to help make sure that young people know the basics of how to manage their money before they leave home.”

Dr Allan said numeracy is a vital skill that is important in everyday life, particularly in the current financial climate.

“Curriculum for Excellence requires all schools to ensure that children and young people develop high levels of numeracy skills to help them develop the financial awareness they need for independent living and effective money management.”