On hand to help members caught in perfect storm of rising debt and economic uncertainty
CILEx Benevolent Fund: on hand to help members caught in ‘perfect storm’ of rising debt and economic uncertainty
17 January 2018
CILEx Benevolent Fund is actively seeking to help people with escalating levels of personal debt in the face of continuing economic uncertainty in 2018.
The fund, which exists to provide access to relevant guidance, information and support to CILEx members in England and Wales who find themselves in unavoidable financial hardship, is concerned that a ‘perfect storm’ is brewing.
Rising levels of unsecured personal debt, combined with widespread uncertainty within the economy, are prompting fears that some members could experience even greater financial hardship in the future.
Paul Clark, a lay trustee of CILEx Benevolent Fund, explains: ‘Against this backdrop of ongoing economic uncertainty, we’re here to help those of our members who find themselves encountering extreme financial hardship as a direct result of rising debts.
‘We recognise that there are a host of factors which lead to someone acquiring debt, and that this can happen to anyone at any stage in their life.
‘CILEx Benevolent Fund provides members with access to debt advice, in addition to offering grants, which are assessed on an individual basis, to those experiencing one-off instances of extreme financial hardship.’
Some financial commentators maintain that the strength of the UK’s economy currently remains ‘uncertain’. In the three months to September 2017, jobs figures showed the first fall in the number of people in work since 2013, prompting some commentators to speculate that the employment boom of recent years is ending.
Also, despite other indications that business confidence rose in 2017, in November Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, downgraded his predictions for economic growth in the coming years by around half a percentage point annually.
Paul Clark adds: ‘In the face of this evolving economic uncertainty, the best advice remains to manage high levels of unsecured debt at the earliest opportunity.
‘The message is simple: CILEx Benevolent Fund is here to help those of our members who find themselves facing unavoidable financial hardship, and they shouldn’t delay in getting in touch.’