Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which credit unions have received funding under the Credit Union Expansion Project; and how much each such union has received.

I can confirm that DWP has contracted directly with the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) for the delivery of the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP). ABCUL’s subsidiary Cornerstone Mutual Services (CMS) contracts individually with each Credit Union agreeing specific financial terms and incentives. DWP does not hold statistics on funds that have been allocated to each Credit Union as this forms part of the commercial agreement between CMS and the Credit Unions. It should be noted that the bulk of the CUEP funding has been invested in the development of a shared infrastructure for Credit Unions to modernise their business models and become more sustainable.