Financial wellbeing in North East England
Our partnerships manager for North East England, Karleen Dowden, looks at financial challenges in the region, how employers are embedding financial wellbeing into their business and how the Money and Pensions Service can support your organisation to do the same.
About Karleen
Born and raised in the North East, Karleen is committed to driving social and economic change to improve the lives of people in the region.
Karleen lives in Northumberland and has experience working in partnership with a wide range of public, private and third sector stakeholders, to develop collaborative approaches to addressing common aims.
What is financial wellbeing?
For us at the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and in control. It’s about making the most of your money from day to day, dealing with the unexpected, and being on track for a healthy financial future. In short: financially resilient, confident and empowered.
UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing
Over the decade, the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing is aiming to help people gain more confidence to manage their money. The vision is for everyone to make the most of their money and pensions in the short, medium and long term.
Read our UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing 2020-2030Opens in a new window (PDF, 7MB)
Financial wellbeing in North East of England
As England’s industrial heart, the North East has an economic heritage to be proud of. These days, the region is central to many UK industries – including chemical, digital, manufacturing and energy – yet it faces serious financial wellbeing challenges that can impact the local economy.
A particular area of concern in the North East is the lack of savings among households. If an unexpected income shock occurs, more people will be pushed into borrowing money to meet their basic needs. This means individuals must have access to guidance on borrowing safely.
Key financial wellbeing statistics in the North East
Our most recent Adult Financial Wellbeing Survey found that in the North East England region:
- 30% of people couldn’t pay an unexpected bill of £300 from spare money or affordable borrowing
- 48% of people with bills and credit commitments are struggling to keep up with or are falling behind with their payments.
- 43% of those who are 18 years old and above, do not feel confident about managing their money.
Worryingly, 13% of people in the region are borrowing to buy food and pay bills. This is a real concern as frequent use of credit for everyday costs has been linked to mental health challenges.
Similarly, local authority figures from our 2023 Debt Need Survey highlight that in some areas of the North East more than 16% of the population fall into our 'showing strong indications of needing debt advice' category.
Supporting your workforce
The appetite from organisations to improve the financial wellbeing of people in the region is growing at pace, partially due to cost-of-living pressures but also because many feel a real sense of responsibility to the people they are supporting.
But knowing where to start can be tricky. That’s why it’s worth reaching out to MaPS to help your colleagues and community manage their personal finances confidently.
How MaPS can help your organisation
We offer a wide array of free support to businesses including:
- A dedicated partnership manager based in your location, with managers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and regions across England.
- Bespoke support to help you build and implement your financial wellbeing strategy.
- A selection of guidesOpens in a new window available in English and Welsh, and in print, braille or audio format, for free.
- A help with the cost of living hubOpens in a new window featuring articles, tools, calculators and a printable guide to support your colleagues and customers.
- Our annual Talk Money Week awareness campaign, which provides a platform for conversations about money in all walks of life.
- MoneyHelper offers a bi-lingual service via a variety of channels, with tools and helplines in EnglishOpens in a new window and WelshOpens in a new window
- Guidance on life events, such as a section on losing your jobOpens in a new window or about divorce and how this affects pensionsOpens in a new window
- Help employees plan for later life with a section dedicated to pensions and retirement guidanceOpens in a new window
- Various tools and calculatorsOpens in a new window offer personalised guidance for topics including debt advice.
Other resources
- Sign up to become a partner of our Money Adviser Network (MAN)Opens in a new window to enable your staff to make direct customer referrals.
- Our Money Guiders networksOpens in a new window enable organisations to collectively reach hundreds of thousands of people in the North East
How we have worked with partners in North East England
Money in Mind: Money and mental health signposting tool
Working with the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), MaPS and a host of regional partners developed the Money in Mind tool to help their staff support service users dealing with mental health and money worries.
The tool sets out a series of questions that a mental health professional can ask to explore any issues a service user might be experiencing about money. It includes a range of national services and resources that service users can be signposted to, and there is an editable section for partners to populate with local services.
The tool was tested in North East England and following a positive evaluation is now has now been rolled out nationally.
Catherine Richardson, Senior programme manager and commissioner mental health, learning disabilities, autism and dementia at North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said:
"Through the collaborative involvement of our NHS providers and third sector partners via NENC ICB, MaPs has helped us gain a real understanding of the needs of local people, as well as highlight the potential gaps in NHS knowledge to make sure we direct people to the right support. A supportive working relationship has developed which we will continue to foster for the benefit of our population."
Contact Karleen
If you would like to know more about how to embed financial wellbeing in your organisation, please contact Karleen via this form.Opens in a new window
Our other partnership regions
Also see
- Find out more about the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing Delivery Plans across the UK