Hand to Mouth
This report shares research into how adults with multiple needs access financial services. It examines their financial management skills and the interplay between life events, mental health and offending. It looks at the impact of poverty and financial exclusion and makes several recommendations. Despite sustained efforts, measures to tackle financial exclusion have failed to reach some of the most excluded within our society. People facing a range of needs who are involved with the criminal justice system often live at the margins of our society. Their financial exclusion must be understood within the context of their broader social exclusion.
The lives of adults with multiple needs are often defined by poverty. This is also a major contributory factor to their financial exclusion and to their poor mental wellbeing. A number of barriers were experienced in relation to accessing financial services. These included barriers such as the need for identification and a permanent address. Unable to access mainstream services, people borrowed money from family and friends or used alternative, more expensive credit sources.
Financial management was a cause of stress for all. However, despite limited means, many people managed their money well, keeping a tight control on their outgoings and using creative money management skills. Most of the people we spoke to had never sought specialist financial advice. They were more likely to ask a non–specialist but trusted professional such as a housing worker. However, these workers lacked confidence in their competence to give such advice.
The impact of life events upon financial stability was a recurring theme. Transitions such as entering or leaving prison or becoming homeless often led to both personal and financial crisis. Such transitions are a common experience for adults with multiple needs.
With no financial contingency, this group was usually reliant on a benefits system which they experienced as complicated, slow and unhelpful. In extremis some returned to crime as a proven source of income.
Everyone we spoke to aspired to a future that included working, supporting family members and contributing positively to society.
Adults with multiple needs require different types of support to enable them to meet their aspirations for an inclusive future. Interventions to tackle their financial inclusion must take into account the breadth of their need. They must also ensure that the services supporting them work in partnership with specialist financial advice agencies.
