Half a million people had their application for a crisis loan turned down by the Government in the first six months of last year the Liberal Democrats have revealed. This is more than were refused in the whole of the previous 12 months.
Applications for the loans, aimed at low-income families and pensioners unable to get credit elsewhere, rose by more than 40% last year to 2.5m. The figures come at a time when the Government is encouraging banks to increase lending.
The figures, contained in Parliamentary answers from Jenny Willott, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, show that:
· In the last year there were 148,810 applications for Crisis Loans – an increase of 51,150 (53%) on the previous year.
· The number of applications for Crisis Loans in October was the largest in Wales since the scheme was established, 14,460.
· However, in the last year Jobcentre Plus has turned down 50,240 applications, over a third of all received. This is the highest proportion in the last four years.
Related posts:
