Two new advisors will help more housing organisations throughout the UK support their tenants through financial difficulties thanks to a new injection of funding from Barclays and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has recruited two new Financial Inclusion Advisors to work with local councils and housing organisations on how best to support tenants in gaining greater control over their finances.

Housing workers have contact with more people on low incomes, with few savings and without access to affordable financial services than many other professions and are often a first source of information and advice on money issues for tenants. The FSA and Barclays recognise the important role of the housing sector in helping people manage their money better and develop more financial independence, and have released funding to support this work for two years.

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Ken Dow is the Financial Inclusion Advisor who will support housing organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Nick Fletcher, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at CIH Scotland, said: "It is vital that CIH supports housing organisations in developing their financial capability work in order to make serious inroads into tackling poverty. More households are likely to be at risk as unemployment rises, especially those who have few or no savings to cushion the blow of loss of earnings. Research shows that 11 of the 25 local authority areas with the lowest savings balance are in Scotland; and that Northern Ireland has an overall savings balance below that of the UK average. These households are often the hardest hit in hard economic times and support from their social landlord is particularly important."

Paul O'Connor is the new Financial Inclusion Advisor for England and Wales. He will build on CIH's work with housing organisations to develop their financial inclusion strategies to support tenants.

(CD/JM)