Projects to help people with money management to benefit from £7m

In support of the UK 'Financial Capability Strategy', the Money Advice Service (MAS) is today launching a fund of up to £7 million to help understand more about how to improve the money management capability of millions of UK citizens who struggle to stay in control of their finances.

Launching across the UK, the 'What Works Fund' will provide financial support for projects focused on building evidence of the types of interventions that can make a difference to people's financial capability.

Funding will be available for organisations (such as independent grant-making charities) that are working on improving and scaling up their existing offerings, as well as for organisations that are working on new approaches to help people get a handle on their finances.

See our guide on why Financial Education is so important.

When will this money be made available?

The MAS is encouraging organisations to express initial interest by completing a form by Friday 8 July.

Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the MAS, says: "We would like to see as many eligible projects as possible applying for funding so that we can distribute the fund most effectively across the UK. This is an important step on our journey to achieve our wider aim of improving everyday money management and financial capability across the UK."

What is the Financial Capability Strategy?

Launched in October 2015, the Financial Capability Strategy is a 10-year plan aiming to support people's ability to manage money better on a day-to-day basis, prepare for and manage life events, and deal with financial difficulties.

A survey of more than 5,000 people conducted by the MAS at the end of last year found that four in 10 were not in control of their finances. This new scheme is designed to build on that survey research, and will produce data that identifies the interventions that work best to improve financial capability.