Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what further steps he plans to take to promote awareness and encourage the take-up of the Armed Forces Credit Union among military personnel and their families; and if he will make a statement.

Credit Union (CU) facilities for members of the Armed Forces have been in place since 15 November 2015 and for veterans in receipt of an Armed Forces pension since March 2016.

Following the introduction of the provision, the three Credit Unions, PlaneSaver CU, Police CU (trading as Serve & Protect) and London Mutual CU, met their first year target of 1,000 new members. At the end of the second year, the Credit Unions have reported that the number of Service personnel taking up the offer has grown to over 3,000.

A number of new initiatives to advertise the availability of Credit Unions have been undertaken this year, including messages on payslips and having a Credit Union representative take an active role in the British Forces Broadcasting Service ‘Money Week’ initiative.