ANDY Carter MP has called for better Financial Education for young people in a digital world in a speech in the House of Commons recently.
The Warrington South MP was taking part in a parliamentary debate called to discuss the issue, which saw cross-party agreement on the need to educate more young people on topics such as savings, pensions and budgeting to ensure greater financial wellbeing in later life. The debate also called for more support for teachers to help them teach the subject more broadly.
Less than half of UK children aged 7-17 have been taught about money at home or in school, according to a recent report from the Money and Pensions Service. In his remarks Andy Carter said that our experiences in childhood prepare us for adulthood and learning about money is no different. It becomes a part of daily life and our financial decisions can bring real benefits and consequences, so it’s crucial to learn from a young age with pocket money and eventually a part time job.
Praising the work of organisations like Young Enterprise, Mr Carter said it’s important to break down topics into practical activities where young people get to understand how business works and decisions you need to make to when you’re managing a budget.
The MP recently met with the Chief Executive of Unify Credit Union in Warrington, Angela Fishwick, who shared with him the work the Credit Union does to encourage children to save in their First Savers account through local primary schools, running sessions one morning a week and allowing children to ask questions and pay into a savings account. The Credit Union currently have over 1,000 junior savers, whose savings total almost half a million pounds.
Andy Carter MP said: “Everybody wants to ensure that children leave school with the skills and knowledge that will equip them for their adult lives. However, too often it can seem that some of the most obvious life skills are not being given sufficient prominence, and in some cases are being completely overlooked during young people’s time in schools. The most obvious is learning about basic finances – not just personal finances, but how public services are paid for and the finance of business.
“When I go into schools I often talk about the choices we all have to make when deciding how we spend money and how it’s important to think about saving for a mortgage and a pension. Too often, unfortunately, I meet constituents who have fallen into the spiral of debt and are going to loan sharks and illegal moneylenders to try to get themselves out of very difficult situations. It is not just about the constant nagging of trying to pay off those debts, but about the impact that that has on mental health. We have a responsibility to increase financial literacy in our schools.
“Finances play an important role in every part of our lives, whether that is paying taxes, opening a bank account, taking out a mortgage or even just budgeting for the weekly shop. I welcome the work Unify Credit Union are doing in Warrington’s primary schools, enabling schoolchildren to learn some of the most basic elements of finance by encouraging them to save early.”
More information about Unify Credit Union’s First Savers accounts is available on their website here: https://www.unifycu.org/savings-junior
