Money Advice Trust responds to Government’s new Share Once Support Register

Posted May 16, 2024

Leading debt advice charity, the Money Advice Trust, has welcomed the Government’s announcement on the introduction of a Share Once Support Register, calling the move a key part of ensuring protections for customers in vulnerable circumstances when dealing with firms providing essential services.

The register is aimed at improving the experience vulnerable and disabled customers have when disclosing their situation and needs to energy, water or telecommunications companies.

The Money Advice Trust, the charity behind National Debtline, has supported the publication of guidance for firms on how to design systems to implement such a register with customers’ lived experience at the forefront of any approach.

Dr Christopher Fitch, Vulnerability Lead Consultant at the Money Advice Trust, said:

"The Share Once Support Register could result in a powerful ‘Tell us once’ system and could replace the current ‘Tell us many’ approach that people wanting additional help often struggle with.  

"However, it needs to be designed to reflect what vulnerable and disabled consumers need from data-sharing, rather than relying on assumptions or solely focusing on technical issues.

“This is why the paper ‘10 principles for designing vulnerable consumer data-sharing programmes’, launched this week, is a timely intervention.  

“Drawn from research, lived experience, and leading specialists, it outlines ten things that disabled and vulnerable consumers practically need from any data-sharing scheme and certainly from the Share Once Support Register”.

Supported and distributed by the Money Advice Trust, the ‘10 principles for designing vulnerable consumer data-sharing programmes’ paper can be downloaded at: www.WhatWeNeed.Support and https://moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability-resources

---

---

---

---