Is financial education really the Government’s responsibility or the industry’s? How do we persuade consumers to manage their finances more efficiently? Is the ‘sensible finance’ message as much for the well-off as the vulnerable? What role can financial services providers play to make a real difference? Various industry professionals provide their thoughts.

As the roll-out of a national money guidance service, to be delivered by a new Consumer Financial Education Body, was announced in the Queen’s Speech, Financial Capability is gathering pace. But as the following pages show, there are still many thorns to be grasped. CASPIAN WOODS reports from the Forum’s event on 11th November where practitioners across the industry gathered to air their challenges.

Over the years, CHRIS POND has collected 17 marathons – an appropriate recreation for the man confronted with the “generational challenge” of directing the national strategy for Financial Capability. He tells Anthony Thomson about his 20-year task to help the most vulnerable engage more positively with financial services.