New wellbeing project 

Earlier this year we published our research Adviser Perspectives on a Workforce Strategy. The findings made clear that there is a need for greater focus on adviser wellbeing, and in response to this, we have launched a new project to address the issue of poor adviser wellbeing.

The first stage in this project involves getting a better idea as to what helps and harms workplace wellbeing in the sector and we have put together a short survey on this, which we would be very grateful if advisers could complete. The survey can be found here and should take around 10 minutes.

Our research found that a majority of advisers felt that training for advisers and managers would improve their wellbeing. Following the survey, we are holding a short online consultation event on Thursday 9 July, 14:00-15:30 to find out more about how to make wellbeing training as helpful as possible for money advisers and managers. Register here. 

FCA mortgage measures update

The FCA has announced an update to its recently introduced package of measures for mortgage customers. This update relates to firms’ ability to provide personalised information on their customers’ monthly payments or the term of their mortgage and what FCA expectations are when a firm is unable to provide personalised information due to operational constraints. The guidance makes clear that firms should aim to get as close to personalised information as possible, and includes examples of the information and assistance that firms should make available to customers such as:

• Representative examples relevant to the customer’s circumstances
• Online tools that can help guide customers through relevant representative examples
• An online calculator (or signposting to one and providing customers with the info they need to use it such as interest rate and loan balance) that customers can use to understand the impact of a payment holiday on their monthly payment, mortgage term, or both

For more information, see full guidance for firms and full guidance for consumers

Free school meals in Scotland 

Children in Scotland who are eligible for free school meals will continue to receive them over the summer holidays. Local authorities will get £27.6 million in funding from the Scottish Government to provide the service to around 175,000 pupils. This number has increased by 53,000 since the beginning of the pandemic as a result of the impact on family incomes.

For more information, see the Scottish Government website.