Financial Inclusion: Young People

Debate between Josh Dean and Jim Shannon

Tuesday 30th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered financial inclusion for young people.

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir John. Today, young people are one of the groups most at risk of financial exclusion. Analysis by Fair4All Finance has identified 2 million unsteady starters in financially vulnerable circumstances across the UK. That includes 11% of financially vulnerable adults in Hertford and Stortford. Predominantly under 35, those young people are facing a combination of pressures: low financial resilience, higher housing costs, insecure work, rising insurance costs and a growing exposure to online financial risks. They experience poorer financial wellbeing as a result, closely linked to poor mental health, creating a vicious cycle that can undermine their educational attainment, employment prospects and economic participation.

Financial inclusion is about more than access to banking; it is about access to affordable credit, insurance, savings, trusted financial guidance and opportunities to build a financial track record. I am pleased that the Government have recognised the importance of tackling financial exclusion in the financial inclusion strategy. If we can break down the barriers to financial inclusion, we can improve the lives of millions of people and unlock growth across the country. In this afternoon’s debate, I want to examine the barriers to financial inclusion that young adults face, and consider where Ministers could build on the financial inclusion strategy to prioritise practical interventions to support young people.

Although a young person may pay rent regularly, meet mobile phone payments or have built responsible financial habits, they often lack sufficient credit history to access mainstream financial products on fair terms. We know that young adults are over-represented in the gig economy, temporary employment roles, part-time work and on zero-hours contracts. The insecure and variable income they receive is compounded by the high cost of living. It is harder for them to budget effectively or qualify for mainstream financial products, and they are more reliant on costly forms of borrowing as a result.

As the cost of living crisis continues to eat into disposable incomes, young people struggle to build emergency or long-term savings. They typically have fewer savings than older adults, which leaves them acutely vulnerable to financial shocks: losing a job, an unexpected bill, increased rent or transport costs. In those circumstances, without emergency savings to draw on, many face a poverty premium, paying more in the long term through instalments because they cannot afford the cost of an up-front payment.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing this forward. The situation in Northern Ireland is no different from the one he described in his constituency and the wider United Kingdom. Young people face unprecedented barriers to building financial security. High street bank closures are turning rural and working-class communities into banking deserts. At the same time, the aggressive use of unregulated “buy now, pay later” schemes and predatory online lending apps is driving vulnerable young adults into spirals of unmanageable debt before they even secure their first mortgage or full-time career. Does he agree that the Government must implement comprehensive, mandatory financial literacy education in our schools, as a priority?

[Josh Dean]

I could not agree more about the importance of financial education for young people, which I will come to in my speech.

We can already see how those overlapping pressures exacerbate a young person’s financial insecurity. Insurance is another area where they are left facing vulnerability to financial shocks that they are already ill-equipped to absorb. I was shocked to learn that 18 to 24-year-olds are significantly less likely to hold contents insurance, even though they are more likely to experience flood damage, escape of water, fire damage, burglary and theft. That is especially true when they live in rented accommodation, which many young adults do.

I want to draw particular attention to the cost of motor insurance. Young people often make significant personal investments in driving lessons, to make it easier to get to work or education, only to find they cannot access affordable insurance when they pass their test. That directly impacts their ability to access work, training and other opportunities, especially in semi-rural communities such as the one that I represent, and it highlights how young people can face financial exclusion even when they are doing everything right.

Too often, young people are entering adulthood without the tools, confidence or support networks that they need to navigate increasingly complex financial decisions.

Anti-social Behaviour: East of England

Debate between Josh Dean and Jim Shannon

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Josh Dean]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that interesting point, which I will certainly consider. It is important that we tackle antisocial driving and speeding. We have a specific incident spot on West Street in Hertford, where residents have been campaigning to deal with antisocial driving and speeding not just since I was a councillor there a year ago, but for the past 25 years. I am sure Members will not mind me pointing out that that is longer than I have been alive.

We know that antisocial behaviour takes many forms, often going hand in hand with crime, and that means that our police have to fight on multiple fronts, but they will always have my support when they take positive steps to tackle antisocial behaviour in our community. We know there is more to do, and I welcome this Labour Government’s commitment to cracking down on the antisocial behaviour that blights our communities, including through the tough new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill. Residents regularly disturbed by e-scooters and off-road bikes misused on our streets will welcome the removal of the requirement for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles associated with antisocial behaviour.

Ours must also be a Government who tackle antisocial behaviour at its roots, so in the time I have remaining I shall talk about antisocial behaviour among young people. Too often in semi-rural communities like mine, young people are driven to antisocial behaviour by lack of provision and support. The famous image of the loitering youth only exists because there is so rarely anywhere else for them to go, such was the decimation of youth services under the watch of the previous Government for 14 years.

I pay tribute to the work of the charities and voluntary organisations filling gaps in youth services in our community, particularly the Thirst Youth Café in Bishop’s Stortford and FUTUREhope in Hertford, where I once volunteered. Their work not only deters young people from antisocial behaviour and the more serious crime it acts as a doorway to, but builds their confidence, so that they can find the path that is right for them and contribute positively to our community.

I warmly welcome the work that this Government are undertaking to introduce a network of Young Futures hubs to support young people’s development in communities like mine, to improve their mental health and wellbeing and to stop them from being drawn into a life of crime and antisocial behaviour. I am also encouraged by plans to develop a new national youth strategy to deliver better co-ordinated youth services at the local, regional and national levels, and to help all our young people to reach their full potential.

[Jim Shannon]

I am listening to what the hon. Gentleman says about the groups helping to give young people an opportunity to do something. Does he have in his constituency, as I have in mine, churches that reach out to help? For example, in Newtownards, the Salvation Army is developing a new centre. Those sorts of outreach efforts that people are doing individually and voluntarily will make a big difference. Does he agree?

[Josh Dean]

Absolutely. The groups I mentioned are supported by local churchgoers and religious groups in our community. I pay tribute to them, not least because I was supported by youth services as a young person. I would not be standing here as the Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford without them.

I am looking forward to engaging in coming months with young people and local service providers in our community, to ensure that they can contribute directly as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport develops the exciting new national youth strategy.

On that point, I shall be grateful if the Minister outlines how the Home Office is working across Government to ensure that tackling antisocial behaviour and crime prevention are wired into the national youth strategy. Also, how will the Home Office work with policing teams in semi-rural communities such as mine to continue to crack down on antisocial behaviour?