Almost 1,500 civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions have signed up to its new credit union savings scheme in the first four months, new figures show.
Credit unions are non-profit making, member-owned financial institutions which aim to encourage saving and offer credit at more reasonable rates than high-street and payday lenders.
Last year the DWP invested £38m with the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) in a bid to help the industry become financially self-sufficient, and this summer became the first government department to allow staff to start automatically saving with credit unions through their payroll.
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According to the just-published figures from the DWP, some 1,459 employees have now signed up to the scheme, which allows them to save with the Commsave, Hull & East Yorkshire and Voyager Alliance credit unions.
Publishing the figures to coincide with International Credit Union day this month, pensions minister Richard Harrington said: “I’m proud that my department was the first in central government to offer this service to its employees, and is helping to support this important industry.
“Credit unions can provide access to good quality, affordable financial services and that’s why we are supporting the sector to grow."
Attempts to expand the UK's fledling credit union sector have had mixed success in recent decades, according to a briefing note prepared for MPs by the House of Commons library.
The briefing said the policy aim of expanding unions – which are typically open to local residents and often small in size – has "put pressure on the traditional organisation structure" of the schemes.
"Broadening their reach without at the same time loosening their local ties and bonds is a difficult balancing act," the briefing said.
But, according to the DWP, credit union membership in the UK grew by an average of 5.7% in the 12 months to December 2015.