"The Alliance is one of the most ambitious projects I've ever pulled together. Thanks to an incredible commitment of a diverse, resourced and engaged group of members we are able to bring a fresh and pragmatic approach to making credit fairer for all."Michael Sheen — founder of the End High Cost Credit Alliance
Membership
All members are committed to working together to deliver greater impact through collective action, campaigns and public engagement. Membership is a 'voluntary commitment' to work as a collaborative, designing and delivering actions together as well as backing the actions and campaigns of individual members. Membership is open to organisations and individuals who share our aims to improve credit for all in the UK. To join the Alliance please use the Contact Us page.
Membership of the Alliance is split into Full Members and Observers. Full Members are organisations or individuals working towards our common goals and on specific actions that match their resources, remit and capabilities. Observers are organisations who are engaged in informing, learning from and participating in our work but cannot be Full Members for reasons of law, regulatory conditions or political freedoms. Observers also engage with the Alliance because of the potential impact on their own work.
Alliance Members
Michael Sheen
As an actor Michael has proved himself equally accomplished on both stage and screen. He is known for his award-winning performances including Caligula, Frost/Nixon and Hamlet, and to millions more as a vampire in The Twilight Saga and a werewolf in the Underworld Franchise. Alongside his extensive acting work, he is an Ambassador and Patron of numerous organisations including UNICEF UK, Social Enterprise UK and Credit Unions Wales. Michael is the founder of the End High Cost Credit Alliance.
Professor Karen Rowlingson
Karen Rowlingson is a Professor of Social Policy in the School of Social Policy and Deputy Director of CHASM at the University of Birmingham. She has carried out research on personal finance issues for over 25 years, including studies of responsible lending, financial inclusion, financial education and saving policy. From 2016–17 she was the Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion.
Alliance Observers
- Financial Conduct Authority
- UK Government
- Inclusive Economy Partnership
Moneyline
For the last fifteen years Moneyline has been a leader in developing alternative ways to provide financial products to low income households. We are a not-for-profit social enterprise with a presence in many low income communities in North West England, the Midlands and South Wales through our retail branch network. More recently we are growing our geographical reach with a UK-wide telephone lending service. We have lent over £69M in 130,000 loans and put at least £35 million into the pockets of low income households through interest saved had they borrowed from a high cost lender.
www.moneyline-uk.comFair For You CIC
Fair for You is the UK's Number 1 Trusted Flexible Credit Provider, and double award winners at the 2017 Consumer Credit Awards including Consumer Credit Champions. Established as a Community Interest Company, wholly owned by a Registered Charity, Fair for You's mission is to remove fully the poverty premium attached to buying essential items for the home, and serves lower income households across the UK. Our independent social impact reports have shown that the health and wellbeing of the entire family is improved when able to escape high cost credit.
www.fairforyou.co.ukScotcash
Scotcash is a UK-wide award-winning social enterprise that offers affordable loans to customers who have limited alternatives. Alongside a range of other financial inclusion services such as access to bank accounts, savings accounts and money advice, Scotcash aims to help reduce borrowing costs, improve financial resilience and stabilise financial circumstances for low income households. Over the last ten years, Scotcash has provided over 21,000 affordable loans, collectively saving citizens over £5 million in interest repayments.
www.scotcash.netEsmée Fairbairn Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation funds the charitable work of organisations that are building a more inclusive, creative and sustainable society in the UK. In 2017 we made grants of £39 million towards a wide range of work within the arts, children and young people, the environment and social change. We also have a £45 million allocation to social investments for organisations with the aim of creating social impact — including Fair for You, East Lancs Moneyline, and Our Power.
www.esmeefairbairn.org.ukCarnegie UK Trust
The Carnegie UK Trust is a charitable foundation, based in Scotland, working across the UK and Ireland. Our mission is to improve people's wellbeing. We've been working on the issue of credit since 2015, undertaking policy, research and advocacy work, alongside practical intervention, to help promote and grow more affordable alternatives for those most in need.
www.carnegieuktrust.org.ukBarrow Cadbury Trust
Barrow Cadbury Trust is an independent, endowed, charitable foundation and the largest of the several dozen Cadbury family foundations. Our history goes back more than 100 years, with a focus on social justice and equality issues from the beginning. Our founders, Barrow and Geraldine Cadbury, worked throughout their lives for greater social justice and we carry on in that tradition today. Building on our Quaker roots we seek long-term solutions by looking at root causes of inequality.
www.barrowcadbury.org.ukSumerian Foundation
Sumerian Foundation has a mission to support social enterprises to achieve lasting impact at scale. Through donations from High Net Worth Individuals, Sumerian Foundation is managing a Facility in the UK that addresses a significant market gap experienced by most social enterprises as they seek to scale up. The Facility provides both appropriately structured long-term funding and business skills support tailored to the needs of each social enterprise — with a focus on supporting the scale-up of social enterprises providing affordable credit.
www.sumerianfoundation.orgCentre for Responsible Credit
The Centre strives to challenge the economic orthodoxy that has led to Britain's current personal debt crisis. We provide a dedicated resource to monitor developments in our credit markets, research models of responsible provision, and develop practical policy proposals for national and local government. Financial services markets have become highly segmented, with low-to-moderate income households paying the most — 'risk based pricing' gives cheap credit to the wealthiest and penalises the poorest.
www.responsible-credit.org.ukToynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall is a leader in financial inclusion services. We have been working directly for over 15 years with people who have suffered from financial exclusion — people who have not been able to access basic financial services, like bank accounts, insurance or pensions. We have seen, first-hand, the life-changing effect that building financial inclusion has on individuals, families and the wider community.
www.toynbeehall.org.ukStepChange Debt Charity
StepChange Debt Charity is the UK's largest specialist debt advice charity. Last year 620,000 people contacted us for help. Our evidence shows many people turn to high cost credit because of the lack of other 'safety nets' to cope with unexpected costs or life events. We estimate that over 1 million people are using high cost credit for essential household costs. We support this campaign because we believe that a clear and coordinated policy change is needed to give people better options.
www.stepchange.orgResponsible Finance
We are the voice of the Responsible Finance industry. We support a strong network of responsible finance providers who are increasing access to fair finance across the UK. Our members provide finance to customers not supported by other lenders. They offer a supportive service and treat people fairly. They are professional social enterprises that re-invest profits to help more people and businesses access finance.
www.responsiblefinance.org.ukTai Tarian
Tai Tarian is one of the largest social landlords in Wales with responsibility for over 9,000 properties across Neath Port Talbot County Borough. As a community housing mutual, we continually work to understand the needs of our customers and members to deliver services based on what matters. We are committed to supporting tenants and communities to achieve what works for them in terms of money and access to fair credit. We have been members of the Alliance since its inception.
www.taitarian.co.ukNeath Port Talbot CVS
Neath Port Talbot CVS is a County Voluntary Council and Charitable Company which supports, promotes and develops the Third Sector locally. Through our close connection with communities, voluntary groups, organisations and individuals, we are committed to actively supporting the Alliance to deliver change and working with partners in trialling local actions that will make a real difference to those affected by high cost credit.
www.nptcvs.walesRoyal Society for Public Health
RSPH is an independent health education charity and the world's longest-established public health body. Our vision is that everyone should have the opportunity to optimise their health and wellbeing. The Alliance is chaired by Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive of RSPH, and we are actively engaged in shaping the evidence base for the impact on the public's health and the design of training and engagement for the wider workforce.
www.rsph.org.ukJoseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an independent organisation working to inspire social change through research, policy and practice. Our vision is for a prosperous UK without poverty, where everyone can thrive and contribute. Our comprehensive strategy — We can solve poverty in the UK — sets out recommendations for how this could be achieved. We are building on our strategy by working with private, public and voluntary sectors to inspire debate and action.
www.jrf.org.ukYoung Foundation
We find new ways of tackling major social challenges by working alongside communities, using the tools of research and social innovation. We run a range of national and international programmes, and work in partnership with organisations, leading thinkers and policymakers to achieve this. We have created and supported over 80 innovative organisations including Which?, The Open University, Language Line, Social Innovation Exchange and School for Social Entrepreneurs.
www.youngfoundation.orgProfessor Sharon Collard
Sharon Collard is the Director of the Personal Finance Research Centre. She has extensive experience of conducting social research in a policy context and specialises in qualitative research techniques. Much of her research is around money management and credit use among low-income households. She has in-depth knowledge of policy around debt, financial exclusion and financial capability.
Personal Finance Research CentreOver 20 organisations and individuals are going through the full membership review and will be added to the site soon.