Member Article

Follow Glasgow’s lead on introducing school students to   credit union membership says leading accountant

A call for Scotland’s councils to follow Glasgow’s lead by introducing all of Scotland’s secondary school students to the benefits of credit union membership has been made by a leading Glasgow accountant.

Steven Cunningham, a partner in Alexander Sloan, Chartered Accountants who specialises in the sector, has called for other councils to follow suit.

He said: “last August Glasgow City Council launched its ground breaking initiative to launch a credit union account for all Primary 7 pupils starting high school.

“This was followed by West Dunbartonshire Council which has opened credit union accounts for school students with the donation of an initial £10 credit, while just recently, the leader of Renfrewshire Council, Mark Macmillan, announced he wants his council to be the next to launch the scheme.

“Such moves can only be welcome; embedding familiarity amongst young people with the benefits credit unions bring to communities is vitally important.

“Glasgow has more Credit Union members than any other city in the UK and more local authorities should look at these imaginative initiatives as a means of growing credit unions in their communities and reducing the numbers of people turning to pay day lenders”.

The Scottish councils’ moves are sure to be examined at the Association of British Credit Union’s annual conference in March where Mr Cunningham, who acts as principal auditor to many of the largest credit unions in Scotland, will be a presenter.

The conference, which will be celebrating fifty years of credit unions in the UK and a current environment of rapid growth, will also discuss the planned launch of a credit union for Britain’s clergy and a Retail Trust-backed credit union for employees in the retail sector.

There is also a Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, to form a credit union for members of the UK’s Armed Forces.

“The establishment of credit unions in such a diverse range of companies and organisations is a tribute to their acknowledged benefits and the enduring and increasingly influential role of the credit union movement”, he said.

For further information, contact Steven Cunningham, Partner, at Alexander Sloan, 38 Cadogan Street, Glasgow G2 7HF, Scotland. T: 0141 204 8998. F: 0141 248 9931.

Issued by Michael Crawford, BPM UK, 0141 353 1515.

Date: March 2014

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Blueprint Media .