Lord Borrie
Main Page: Lord Borrie (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Borrie's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord Freud
Yes, my Lords, that aspect of the review is under active consideration.
Lord Borrie
The Minister referred to the growing significance of credit unions, and of consumer credit provided by the unions. What proportion of outstanding consumer credit at the present time is owed to credit unions? What proportion of the totality of consumer credit do they cover?
Lord Freud
The proportion is disappointingly small; it is 2 per cent. That compares with a figure of 44 per cent in the United States and 75 per cent in Ireland. It is a very small industry here. Our ambition is to double its size in the next five to seven years. Nevertheless, we need to look at various other financial instruments, particularly as we introduce universal credit.