The Money Advice Service (MAS) has revealed details of how its improved service will help people in debt from April this year.

The service, which is a charity funded by the Government, revealed last week that it believes 2million British households need debt advice.

In order to tackle this, MAS has outlined the main elements of its new service which will develop a model of early debt advice aimed at placing people on a sustainable footing and recognising the importance of the creditor industry.

MAS has summarised its new outlook in the document A better deal for everyone: A new approach to debt advice from the Money Advice Service.

Its new focus, backed by the Liberal Democrat Consumer Minister Norman Lamb, will see it aim to tackle personal debt early on before individuals become weighed down with worry.

There will also be a transitional period from April this year to March 2013 when MAS will work out new agreements with existing face-to-face debt advice providers who currently operate directly under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Consumer Minister Norman Lamb said:

“We want people to be better informed and able to make better choices based on good, impartial and sympathetic advice.

“That is why it is so important to help people manage their money more effectively by increasing the level of free face-to-face advice available to consumers.

“The Money Advice Service will work with existing advice services, who are committed to providing the best support for consumers to take the service to the next level.”

Money Advice Service chairman Gerard Lemos said:
“Debt difficulty is a huge worry for millions of people the best way to tackle it is to prevent it.

“But when people get into difficulty and don’t know where to turn to, we will work with creditors and others to ensure those suffering get the immediate help they need.

“The Money Advice Service is developing a more efficient service from which millions of people stand to benefit in the coming years and we look forward to working with a range of partners to deliver this.”