WIRRAL students are being warned of the dangers of loan sharks and taught how to avoid them amid concerns that some families in the borough are falling into the poverty trap.
Nicky Taylor, a tutor at Wirral Metropolitan College, did research which showed that in some parts of Wirral child poverty is as high as 72%.
Now her report has led to the creation of a special money management skills programme which aims to see off loan sharks and stop families being driven deeper into debt.
Ms Taylor was shown the scale of the poverty problem when compiling a report on deprivation in areas such as Birkenhead and Wallasey.
The programme is currently aimed at students whose first language is not English.
However, Ms Taylor, who tutors in English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) at the Conway Park campus in Birkenhead, hopes to see it rolled out across the college.
She said: "Wirral is the 60th most deprived of 354 districts in the country with some areas having levels of child poverty at over 60 percent. In some areas, it can be as high as 72 percent.
"Financial exclusion, where residents don’t have access to basic financial products such as a bank account, is typical in these areas, putting families at greater risk from loan sharks and other unregulated lenders.
"As a result, families become locked into a cycle of poverty and exclusion which can last many decades."
Following findings in Ms Taylor’s report, which examines how financial exclusion relates to child poverty, Lloyds Banking Group is now using her data for its Money for Life project aimed at learners in the further education sector and community groups.
The organisation has also been responsible for the development of the money management course running at Wirral Met. – with Ms Taylor becoming the first person in England to gain a qualification.
She added: "The key to breaking the poverty trap cycle in Wirral is to remove as many barriers as possible to financial exclusion.
"Classes need to teach budgeting and managing money, understanding how payslips are organised and what APR is in relation to products bought using hire purchase.
"Teenagers are interested in the latest gadgets and mobile phones but actually understanding the consequences of taking out a loan to pay for these items and keeping up with the repayments is vital."
