In today’s bulletin:
- General update
- FCA ‘heads up’ on 2026 Consumer Duty Board reports
- Update on QA Framework event from February 2025 – FourNet offices on 14 May 2026 in Manchester
- FCA vision for open finance to empower consumers!
- Personal Insolvency statistics – March 2026
- Modernising and improving the administration of council tax – government response
- Collaborations & Appointments
- Events
General Update
Tankers are reporting being ‘fired upon’ by Iran gunboats as Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz again. This was just as mortgage rates showed some signs of coming down. The headline yesterday was ‘UK petrol and diesel prices fall after weeks of rises’.
According to the ONS, the proportion of people reporting the price of fuel as a reason for increased living costs had risen to 75% in March 2026, up from 38% in February.
Brits are happy to use AI but still don’t trust it
I have posted on this. I only picked up on it after AI minister Kendall said she doesn’t use AI at work. The discussion around building consumer trust in AI and Open Finance will no doubt develop, whilst we look further at the agentic AI adoption by consumers as a personal assistant, including aspects like complaining to their providers. This is worthy of a deeper dive given the focus by the government, the FCA and the ICO.
In December 2025, YouGov published some findings around this conundrum, where consumers seem to trust unregulated providers of AI tooling, but not the regulated providers using it in their business models. This risks from ‘bad actors’ need to be communicated effectively, probably as part of the wider challenge around ‘consumer understanding’, which may become increasingly difficult if you are engaging with an AI-assisted consumer. We will discuss this at the AI Governance event with BSI on 25 June 2026 at their offices in Milton Keynes.
The findings may be relevant to the audience I presented to at Innovation South at Toynbee Hall on Thursday.
Younger people are driving most of the use. 58% of 18–24-year-olds report frequent usage, compared to 30% of those aged 45–54 and 19% of those 55 and over. This shows that while AI tools are well integrated among young people, adoption among older Britons remains limited. I am hoping that my efforts in the bulletin prove that I am in the 19% of 55+ year old bracket using it regularly.
Worth Chris and I exploring further as this looks like a ‘hot topic’ for future events. Driverless vehicles still look pretty unpopular along with the offside rule in Football or line calls at Wimbledon.
Handling sensitive or special category data will undoubtedly be something we need to explore further where trust is imperative to the ‘Tell Us Once’ agenda.
Link: https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/53709-trust-in-ai-uk-2025
Stop funding AI pilots – start building platforms
Interesting Blog on the UK Finance site around AI pilots. This probably aligns with a lot of messaging from our LinkedIn Live events every Friday morning. Thinking about how you deploy enterprise projects at scale. Probably a topic for our AI Governance Summit on 25 June 2026 at the BSI offices in Milton Keynes – save the date.
The question boards should be asking is not “how many AI pilots do we have running?” It is “have we made the decision to fund the infrastructure that would allow any of them to matter?”
Link: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/blog/stop-funding-ai-pilots-start-building-platforms
The Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) has a new name: All Together Money – The credit union movement
The rebrand took place on the same day as the Affordability Summit. We received some kind words from Matt Bland ahead of our event.
This is more than a new name. It reflects a renewed commitment to bringing credit unions together, strengthening their collective voice and helping them grow in a fast-changing world. Built on cooperation, not competition, All Together Money represents a movement focused on making money work better for everyone.
Matt Bland, Chief Executive of All Together Money said:
“All Together Money – the credit union movement, captures the strength of our sector. A network of credit unions working side by side, supporting communities and making money work better for everyone. This is a pivotal moment for us. It’s about moving with the times, building a stronger, more connected sector and growing our impact. Through being better connected, better represented and better supported, we’re setting out a clear ambition for the future.”
Stop Loan Sharks England posted on the announcement:
“This new identity reflects a renewed focus on a united credit union network, working together to give more people than ever before access to safe financial services.
“We work closely with credit unions across England to promote safer ways to borrow. We also work hard to encourage people to save, building financial resilience and protection from illegal lending.
“The credit union industry is essential to this work. It’s not just about protecting people from harm – there must be safe, trusted alternatives, and credit unions provide exactly that.
“More credit unions mean fewer loan sharks, which can only be a good thing.”
Link: https://www.alltogethermoney.coop/
UKRN 2026-27 Annual Delivery Plan
This Annual Delivery Plan covers the period April 2026 to March 2027 and articulates how UKRN intend to deliver the 6 core objectives set out in the UKRN Strategy 2024-27. UKRN includes the FCA, Ofgem and Ofwat.
The 6 core objectives are as follows:
- Promoting collaboration
- Supporting the Net Zero transition
- Addressing vulnerability
- Supporting sustainable economic growth and resilience
- Championing effective regulation and telling our story
- Making regulation an attractive career choice
In this Plan, they set out the activities that deliver the intended outcomes for each of their strategic objectives. These activities include a combination of network meetings, stakeholder engagement, formal events and project work. They also provide an indication of the topics they plan to explore and the stakeholders they will engage and consult with, on those areas of work. The Plan is, however, a forward look, therefore the activities included are not exhaustive, leaving room for them to pivot and respond to their members’ needs and changing government priorities.
I commented on their post and the FCA has responded to me. I feel there should be more subject matter experts and delivery partners in the stakeholder group under ‘addressing vulnerability’. I would have hoped for more focus on ‘tell me once’ with new cross-sector material out in the very near future from the experts on the circulation.
Link: https://ukrn.org.uk/publications/ukrn-2026-27-annual-delivery-plan/
FCA ‘heads up’ on 2026 Consumer Duty Board reports
I have posted on this. On 14 April 2026, we ran the Affordability Summit along with a number of subject matter experts. On that day the FCA published their Open Finance vision. More on this in the bulletin today.
The summit – some key messages from a round-up
The FCA highlight in the report the forum had discussed the need to bring together a range of sources to understand if customers are struggling in order to proactively identify whether they need support. It also notes the challenges around understanding outcomes for customers who have not yet contacted a firm. This is something we discussed in detail at the summit, especially around data-sharing, vulnerability, consumer understanding, and where AI might help.
Update on QA Framework event from February 2025 – FourNet offices on 14 May 2026 in Manchester
I promised this update after discussion at the Affordability Summit and conversations afterwards with those working in the income maximisation arena. I think that the regulatory focus around outcomes, vulnerability and affordability – plus the need to optimise consumer journeys – means there is a lot of scope for QA transformation. Really good to see FourNet supporting this, given their growth in the debt advice space over the last year. We will discuss the use of AI and QA at our AI governance summit at BSI on 25 June 2026.
Call handler quality assurance still feels like one of the most important – and overlooked – operational controls across consumer support, debt advice, and collections.
It sits right at the intersection of customer outcomes, regulatory risk, and operational performance.
Yet in many organisations, QA remains:
- manually intensive
- inconsistently applied
- backwards-looking
- and disconnected from broader vulnerability, affordability and complaints insight
That gap matters.
One poor interaction can lead to:
- a missed support need
- a failed complaint resolution
- an inappropriate affordability assessment
- or a vulnerable consumer falling through the cracks
Where AI can help is not by removing oversight – but by improving its reach, consistency and usefulness.
Some of the strongest opportunities include:
- automatically surfacing high-risk calls or transcripts
- spotting patterns in empathy, support, escalation or language
- linking QA insight to complaints, arrears or vulnerability outcomes
- identifying coaching needs earlier
- and helping firms move from compliance-driven monitoring to outcome-driven quality management
We are discussing this further at our event on 14 May in Manchester.
Contact me if interested. Thanks to David for taking this on. Some good experts already on the invite list. There is increasing scope for this across all sectors, with ‘tell me once’ implications too.
FCA open finance vision for open finance to empower consumers!
I have posted on this. Consumers could be given greater control over their financial data to help secure better deals, under FCA vision for open finance – released on the same day as the Affordability Summit on 14 April 2026.
Link: www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/open-finance-roadmap
Open Finance has been a key theme of the summit. We will explore it further at the AI Governance Summit with BSI on 25 June 2026 in Milton Keynes. The Affordability Summit also highlighted the growing interplay between affordability, vulnerability and consumer journeys, where better data-sharing and trusted digital infrastructure may have a transformative impact.
The post by Jessica Rusu from the FCA is worth reviewing: www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-sets-out-vision-open-finance
Personal Insolvency statistics – March 2026
I have posted on this. The Insolvency Service has just published the personal insolvency statistics for March 2026. In March 2026, 12,252 individual insolvencies were registered in England & Wales, 30% higher than in March 2025.
Individual insolvencies increased by 9% compared to February 2026 and rose across all main categories:
- Debt Relief Orders (DROs): 4,236, up 34% compared to March 2025
- Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs): 6,277, up 26%
- Bankruptcies: 1,739, up 37%
The rise in DROs was linked to the removal of the £90 application fee in April 2024, contributing to a sustained increase in use throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Modernising and improving the administration of council tax – government response
I have posted on this. The government, through the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, has published its official response to the 2025 consultation on modernising council tax administration. It sets out to key reforms, with several changes scheduled between 2027 and 2028 that are important for consumers and debt advisers. A number on the circulation have been lobbying for change. This risk is that some of the changes are not fast enough to benefit consumers impacted by the current cost-of-living crisis, which could become more acute. This was discussed (including the slide above) at the Affordability Summit. Lowell also discussed the impact of rising private rental prices that compound some of these challenges.
The package includes:
- a requirement to pause enforcement action for 30 days after initial contact
- a ban on adding court costs where cases are resolved before a summons is issued
- improved accessibility and communication standards
- stronger signposting to debt advice and support services
- extended time to engage before liability orders can proceed
These are important steps in the right direction, but the implementation timetable means many households facing hardship today may not feel the benefits for some time. It underlines the value of current affordability and vulnerability work across the sector, and why ongoing pressure from debt advice, local government and consumer support organisations remains so important.
The ECB has also responded on LinkedIn. Checklist below from John Pears at Lowell.
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/council-tax-shake-up-to-protect-the-most-vulnerable-households
Link: https://www.stepchange.org/media-centre/press-releases/council-tax-collection-rules.aspx
Collaborations & Appointments
We discussed the collaboration between Acquired.com and MEGA.AI at the Innovation South event when looking at use cases around AI adoption.
This matters as firms look to move from siloed solutions to joined-up ecosystems, linking customer communications, payments, affordability, vulnerability and compliance more effectively.
We discussed the integration of the Amplified intelligibility tool into Microsoft Word during the Affordability Summit when discussing consumer understanding. DEMSA has been a strong supporter of this type of tooling in all consumer touchpoints.
This partnership strengthens our ability to support organisations in identifying, recording and responding to vulnerability in a consistent and operationally practical way, using trusted data sources and embedded workflows.
Events
Affordability Summit – Manchester, 14 April 2026
This was a really useful event. It brought together practitioners, technology providers and policy specialists to discuss where affordability, vulnerability, open finance and AI are heading. The conversations reinforced that firms are under pressure to move beyond fragmented approaches and towards more connected, proactive support models.
The day covered themes around income maximisation, better affordability assessments, vulnerability data-sharing, regulatory expectations and implementation challenges. There was a strong emphasis on moving from pilots and isolated interventions to scalable, embedded solutions.
Some of the recurring themes included:
- Early engagement at the first missed payment is critical to improving both customer outcomes and recovery performance.
- There is a persistent “last mile” gap between identifying benefit eligibility and successfully converting that into realised income for customers.
- Digital solutions alone are insufficient; human-led support remains essential for vulnerable and digitally excluded segments.
- Regulatory expectations are shifting toward outcome-based frameworks, requiring firms to demonstrate real customer impact rather than process compliance.
- A 360-degree customer view—combining affordability, creditworthiness, and vulnerability—is becoming the industry standard.
- Significant value remains untapped in income maximisation, with many customers eligible for support they do not claim.
- AI and automation are transforming affordability assessment but require strong governance, transparency, and safeguards.
- Firms must transition from reactive collections to proactive intervention models, using data to identify distress earlier.
- Affordability assessments today are often inconsistent, manual, and prone to poor-quality data, limiting their effectiveness.
- Technology adoption success depends less on the tool itself and more on implementation discipline, integration, and operational ownership.
- The industry is converging toward integrated ecosystems, where data sharing, partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration improve outcomes for customers.
Nathan’s VLOG is entertaining.
Link: https://www.ro-ar.com/affordability-summit-uk/
Innovation South – Toynbee Hall – 17/4
My trusty conference jacket gets another outing at Toynbee Hall at the Innovation South event with TelSolutions and Welfare Together. Innovation South 2026 covered “Practical Solutions, innovations and technical developments” in the local authority sector. Very different audience to the Affordability Summit, where AI adoption plans were on a different planning horizon.
Good to catch up with Nigel Bryant from VRS and Derek Owen.
My thanks to TelSolutions and Welfare Together for allowing me to speak on the topic of reaching vulnerable customers and the role of AI. Derek had set the scene earlier and run a couple of impromptu surveys on AI adoption. I also reflected on some of the findings from the Affordability Summit.
I covered my roles with MEGA.AI, Vulnerability Registration Service and DEMSA, especially as we had a useful update on the Revenues & Welfare Benefits apprenticeship scheme from Cambridge City Council. This covered the importance of training & competence and income optimisation when dealing with the welfare system, including debt management. I touched on the LLM being funded by MaPS with Money Wellness for use by debt advisers. MaPS is supporting our AI governance event at the BSI offices in Milton Keynes on 25 June 2026.
We looked at several AI use cases that had already been referenced around consumer survey campaigns and vulnerability support involving Mega and VRS. We then developed these, looking at payment solutions, including the new partnership with Acquired.com.
We focused on:
☑️ Business readiness
☑️ Data quality
☑️ Picking the right use cases
☑️ Human in the Loop
☑️ Integrations – smooth consumer journeys
☑️ Key partners in the ecosystem
☑️ Operationalising compliance & regulatory transformation
☑️ Continuous improvement – measuring outcomes
A key lesson learned from VRS research is around recognising consumer communication preferences. Tracey Stone reinforced this with Natasha when discussing their service if complex or vulnerable cases can be pro-actively identified. Identifying support needs is vital to deliver better outcomes for all involved.
I have posted on this.
LinkedIn Live with MEGA.AI recording from 17/4/2026
Chris brought some structure to the discussion around the impact of the crisis in the Gulf and the impact on UK and Danish citizens. We reviewed a few calls to action.
The next LinkedIn Live is 11am on 24 April 2026 with Alasdair Skeoch from BPO Collections/Everyday People Financial Solutions.
The turning point for enforcement – 23 April 2026
I am pleased to be supporting this CIVEA in April 2026. Interesting agenda. I am sure that we will pick up on some of the topics covered at the CIVEA/DEMSA in November 2025 where the ECB presented their expectations on their Vulnerability and Ability to Pay standards. 2026 is a big year for delivery of the standards in conjunction with the debt advice sector.
The theme, “A Turning Point for Enforcement”, will drive discussions as we look ahead to exploring innovative solutions and future strategies in civil enforcement.
Core themes:
- Political and Economic Shifts: How will a new Labour Government’s agenda reshape the landscape of enforcement?
- A New Era of Regulation: We will look ahead to the future of the industry, anticipating the impact of the ECB and new statutory regulation.
- Supporting Our Partners: With the ongoing devolution of councils, we will examine the unique issues faced by local authorities and how our sector can provide effective support.
- Challenges and Opportunities: We will address the evolving landscape of the parking sector and explore new approaches to managing vulnerability across all areas of enforcement.
- Social Value and Procurement: How are these applied in other sectors, and what can we learn?
- Abuse of Enforcement and the ‘Safer Enforcement’ Campaign: A crucial discussion on protecting our profession and the public.
Link: https://civeaconference.org/
VRS conference on 7 May 2026 – Nottingham Forest Football ground
The FCA and the ICO are both keynoting. Opening keynote from Lord Holmes MBE – a technology policy leader and advocate for inclusion and accessibility. John Fairhurst from PayPlan is on the main podium and Emma Gibbons is supporting their exhibition stand. Money Wellness has joined the panel sessions. We have great representation from the debt advice sector. Platinum Sponsor, Orbyt UK, is now on the agenda.
Under ‘Vulnerability and Data Sharing’ we have Andrew Thomsen, Group Manager, Competition and Regulatory Cooperation from the ICO. He will provide delegates with an update on data sharing in 2026 and what the impact is on vulnerable customers and those who support them. This should tie up with the FCA/ICO joint statement from March 2026.
I have featured the latest updates from UKRN above on the vulnerability strand of their annual plan.
I am seeing Russell next week and I caught up with Dan and Steve at the Affordability Summit. This should be an interesting session.
Chris and I are both running sessions. I am looking forward to having Ofgem, CCW and Gamcare in my session. Really good attendance reported so far by Heidi with more exhibitors added.
Registration link
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