Standard Life Charitable Trust and Shelter Partner to Help People in Need of Financial Advice

EDINBURGH, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Standard Life Charitable Trust has announced it is to partner with Shelter to help more people find housing and money advice.

The Standard Life Charitable Trust is providing funding to housing and homelessness charity Shelter for three telephone advisers at the charity's housing advice lines in England and Scotland.

Shelter's housing advice line provides support to those who are in debt and behind with rent and mortgage payments, as well as offering advice on a range of other issues including eviction and repossession. The helpline gave advice to almost 50,000 people across England in 2010 alone.

A recent survey by Shelter* showed that more than one in ten (11%) people face a constant struggle to pay their rent or mortgage. With unemployment high, the cost of living increasing and the possibility of a rise in interest rates ahead, more and more people are contacting the charity for help to manage their finances and stay afloat. In the first three months of this year Shelter saw a 30 per cent increase in calls to its helpline.  

The Standard Life Charitable Trust is an independent charity established in 2009 by leading long term savings and investments company, Standard Life, and is focused on supporting people most in need of help managing their finances.

The Trust's donation will fund three full-time telephone advisers at Shelter's helplines until May 2012 allowing the charity to reach an additional 7,300 people with housing advice.

Shelter's chief executive Campbell Robb said: "In these uncertain economic times many people are struggling to make ends meet and more and more are coming to Shelter for help.

"Thanks to this donation from the Standard Life Charitable Trust we will be able to reach even more people. Our advisers can stop things from spiralling out of control and help people get back on their feet."

Baroness McDonagh, Chair of the Standard Life Charitable Trust said: "The Standard Life Charitable Trust is focused on supporting groups who could benefit most from help and advice to improve their financial capability. We are delighted our donation will fund additional Shelter advisers so they can help more people who are at risk of losing their home, many of whom are experiencing severe financial problems."

Notes to Editors:

*Figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size is 2118 UK adults, with a base of 18-34 year olds. Fieldwork was undertaken between 21st April - 3rd May 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

About The Standard Life Charitable Trust

The Standard Life Charitable Trust (SLCT) is an independent charity established by Standard Life in 2009. The trust is a separate organisation from Standard Life Plc, with its own constitution and Board of Trustees. It is funded by the Unclaimed Assets Trust (UAT), which was set up to hold any cash or shares which went unclaimed following Standard Life's demutualisation.

The vision of the trust is to benefit society by building capability and supporting independence and it is currently focused on supporting people most in need of developing skills to manage their finances including lone/single parents, armed forces, young offenders and young people, providing financial education and financial help to those who need it.

About Standard Life:

Standard Life is a leading long term savings and investments company headquartered in Edinburgh and operating internationally. Established in 1825, Standard Life provides ISAs, life assurance, annuities, mutual funds, investment bonds, tax efficiencies, pension planning advice and investment management, including its stocks and shares ISA to over 6.5 million customers worldwide.

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SOURCE Standard Life