Vulnerability Matters

Disabled customers need reasonable adjustments – but just what is reasonable (and unreasonable)? Dr Maria Orchard (University of Leeds) and Naomi Aziz (Scope) unpack what the Equality Act 2010, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice, suggest that every firm could usefully consider. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaorchard https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomipeel/ https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/codes-practice/services-public-functions-and-associations-code-0

What if ‘vulnerability' was more than a technical label and instead became part of a wider human movement for change? In this episode, Lee Healey (Founder of IncomeMax) explains why now is the time to think about vulnerability not just a regulatory duty, but as an opportunity to embed empathy, kindness, and action across society. https://www.linkedin.com/in/incomemax/ https://www.incomemax.org.uk/our-story

AI is promoted as a solution for identifying and supporting vulnerable consumers. But does its performance match its hyperbole? Savannah Price (CEO, Serene) and Dan Holloway (Rogue Interrobang/University of Oxford) cut through the noise and explore not only how far AI has gone on vulnerability, but how much further we might want it to. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssprice/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/myserene https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-holloway-79808288/

Touchscreen payment devices are used across the UK's shops, cafes, and restaurants. But has this flatscreen payment revolution excluded millions of disabled consumers? Dr Amy Kavanagh (accessibility specialist) and Adam Scarrott (UK Finance) debate the challenges, oversights, and design solutions. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-amy-kavanagh/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-scarrott-b9142710/ https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2022-05/UKTAS%20touchscreen%20accessibility%20220519.pdf

Matt Dronfield describes how a fleet of video debt advice kiosks are now reaching some of the UK's hardest to engage communities, including Brixton Prison. Matt explains what the impact has been, and just how he managed to get permission to install soundproof, internet connected, video kiosks across the UK's prison estate. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdronfield/ https://debtfreeadvice.com/news-blogs/debt-free-advice-video-kiosk-arrives-hmp-brixton

Recorded live from the London launch event of the FCA's much-anticipated review of how financial service firms are treating customers in vulnerable circumstances, Chris Fitch talks to Charlotte Clark about what the review's findings mean for firms, consumers, and the regulator too, and whether consumer vulnerability can really sit alongside wider economic growth objectives. Charlotte Clark - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-clark-a44b75121 Review press release - https://lnkd.in/emwe2XXz Review of firms' treatment of customers in vulnerable circumstances - https://lnkd.in/eH9iT_3H Delivering good outcomes for customers in vulnerable circumstances – https://lnkd.in/eEhtJxHM Consumer research report - https://lnkd.in/eCz6YC-k

When a customer has needs that go beyond our internal expertise, signposting is our go-to solution. But are we doing it wrong? What should we change? And just how can we use it to help our customers, but avoid over-whelming the charities and specialist organisations that are already struggling with demand? https://www.linkedin.com/in/catdivers

Christine Tate and Dan Holloway talk about a brand new guide “Help! What support can firms give disabled consumers and people in vulnerable situations?”. Dubbed a support-needs-mini-starter-guide-for-the-confused, this new resource brings together over 100 different types of common support needs from a range of essential sectors and people with lived experience for the very first time. www.MoneyAdviceTrust.org/vulnerability www.WhatWeNeed.Support https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-tate-2480ba26 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-holloway-79808288

Shaun Conner talks to Chris Fitch about setting-up an ‘Empathy' or 'Accessibility Lab' to help staff better understand the barriers that disabled people face in their interactions with essential services. But what sort of kit do you find in an ‘Empth' Lab? And can such simulation ever really work in practice? Shaun Conner (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-conner/ Government Accessibility Personas/Posters: https://alphagov.github.io/accessibility-personas/ Crip For a Day: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170411151019.htm

Drawing on his experience of supporting people involved in the Grenfell Tower fire, Manchester Arena bombing, and other national emergencies, Andy Langford talks to Chris Fitch about the key steps that we can take during and after such high-impact events to restore safety and diminish distress, and what essential services can learn from this. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-langford-548979204/

Grace and Phil draw on new consumer and survey data to identify the major vulnerability trends, policy launches, and practical impacts that we'll see in 2025, and explain to Chris Fitch just what the key events of 2024 were that got us here. https://www.moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability

Katie Orme talks to Chris Fitch about Octopus Energy's decision to employ a team of eight in-house social workers for its customers. Katie shares what a typical day involves as Head of Service for Social Work, the types of customer cases she is helping, and the impact her team of eight are having for Octopus Energy and the customers they serve. https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-orme-764b41282/

Elizabeth Anderson talks to Chris Fitch about what ‘digital poverty' actually is. Cutting through the most common myths, Elizabeth explains what living in a ‘digital first' world looks like to the 11 million UK adults who lack the skills to navigate it, or who cannot afford the costs of online life, and what essential services can do for digitally vulnerable consumers. https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-poverty-alliance https://digitalpovertyalliance.org/

Holly Tuke explains to Chris Fitch how understanding the everyday joys of cooking chips, make-up tips, and going to gigs as a blind person, can help essential services tackle the challenges that their blind customers and colleagues face in a majority-sighted world. Holly also schools Chris on visual language, self-descriptions, and why Braille isn't everything. https://lifeofablindgirl.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollytuke/

Just 11-14% of UK adults in a vulnerable situation have ever disclosed this to an essential service firm, despite the help it might lead to. So why are consumers staying quiet? And how can firms get them to disclose their situation and needs? Alexis Stevens explains what firms can do, and shares her mixed experiences of disclosing her bipolar disorder to get help. www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-stevens-ab6192157/ www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/disclosure

Just how are 999 staff trained to talk, listen, and remain calm as vulnerable callers seek urgent help? In this episode, Mike Modder-Fitch shares his experience of running Police Force Control Rooms and NHS Integrated Care Contact Centres, and explains just what essential service staff can learn from their counter-parts in 999 settings. Mike also explains what his journey from previously running energy and financial service telephone contact centres, to now being Head of Service (IUC) at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, has taught him about the meaning of ‘vulnerability'. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-modder-fitch-6b318229

In this episode, Swindon Borough Council give away (for free) their AI tool which translates documents into an Easy Read format for people with learning disabilities or literacy difficulties. Chris Fitch picks up his jaw from the floor as Annie Baker explains more about ‘Simply Readable', and Tom and Lilly describe their expert by experience role in the project. www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQegdK-1M8 source code: github.com/aws-samples/document-translation

Of the 650,00 people who die each year in the UK, many will have been living with a terminal illness. David Williams shares the practical strategies used on the Marie Curie Information Support Line to have more helpful, natural, and practically useful conversations with terminally ill people and their families. https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/

Kicking-off our new Season, Celia Chartres-Aris takes us on a crash-course on ‘ableism' - a term many disabled people have embraced as reflecting their specific experience of discrimination, but which others have sceptically viewed as another buzzword in an already complex discussion. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celia-chartres-aris/?originalSubdomain=uk https://unlearningableism.com/

In this episode, we tackle the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, a global initiative that helps people with hidden disabilities signal their need for support and understanding in public and workplace spaces. Talking with Paul White (Chief Executive), we look behind the green and yellow lanyard to uncover the scheme's origin story, its lesser-known support offerings, and imminent digital evolution. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-white-61aabb56/ https://hdsunflower.com/uk/

This episode dives into the fascinating world of accessible numbers with Laura Parker, a ‘numbers' specialist. Laura explains to Chris Fitch what accessible numbers are, how they affect everyone's life (including her own experience of dyscalculia), and shares five tips for making numbers more accessible for everyone. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramarieparker/

Kathryn Townsend, the out-going Government Disability and Access Ambassador for Banking, asks the question we've all asked ourselves at some point: have I actually made things better here?   In a personal and frank conversation, Kathryn reflects on the extent to which she has reformed the banking sector for disabled customers, the obstacles and conflicts she has encountered in doing this, and how to make progress in a role which has been both celebrated and criticised for its potential to bring about change. You can find out more about Kathryn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynjanetownsend/

What happens when ‘good intentions' create ‘bad design'? In this 20 minute episode, the internationally renowned writer Liz Jackson talks about how well-meaning attempts to design innovative products and services for disabled people often end in practical failure, and outlines 5 ways to distinguish ‘good' from ‘bad' disability designs. You can find out more about Liz and her work at https://linktr.ee/eejackson | @elizejackson | https://www.linkedin.com/in/eejackson/

In the UK, we send around 110 million texts every day. In today's episode, Victoria Hornby (Chief Executive of Shout, the UK's only 24/7 text service for anyone struggling to cope) talks with Chris Fitch about text-based conversations and crisis, how Shout works, and what essential services can learn from Shout's strategies for managing crisis conversations on a digital channel. You can find out more about Shout at www.giveusashout.org. Or if you are struggling to cope and need to talk, you can speak to a trained Shout Volunteer by texting the word ‘Shout' to 85258.

In this 20 minute episode, we examine what it is like to work on ‘vulnerable consumer' issues for a living, while personally experiencing vulnerability, harm, and difficulty at the same time. Sharing their thoughts, experiences, and advice with Chris Fitch on “being vulnerable, while working in vulnerability” are Makedah Simpson (UK Regulators' Network) and Rosie Lyon (Vulnerability Specialist at AIB). Makedah Simpson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makedahsimpson/ Rosie Lyon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosie-sarah-lyon/

Our latest 20 minute episode focuses on the issue of dependency, addictions, and what essential services can do to support customers with drug, alcohol, gambling, or other related problems. Jamie Compton-Rea explains to Chris Fitch about the steps that services can take, and just what is realistic and effective action in such dependency situations. Find out more about Jamie at his upcoming course on addiction and essential services at www.moneyadvicetrust.org/training and follow the link titled 'addictions'.

Our latest 20 minute episode focuses on the more than 5 million unpaid UK carers who are supporting someone with a physical, mental health, or old-age related problem. Trevor Salomon explains to Chris Fitch about the reality and impact of being an unpaid carer to his wife Yvonne (diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in 2013), and how essential services can better identify and support carers. Find out more about Trevor and Yvonne at https://uk01.z.antigena.com/l/LVTCyv5xA3zInZmZsWhCgC54AfGguVgMXnQEEEky96GQy4tBR1NRt~rcSQbiRj~y2qoVYYK7wjhgM7yTgCFfmTaV8jq0pP2S-vnfnSHcM2QwRm5ZPRyJd~nfDvl03HNQLWFVXyv3B7pp5DG3PmuxqcXFN-3dvXZc5BXJkwimS4pBwoeWL7KshOU6N6vifhNQggoJxzx5fit6aULebGH0CaSOaYvac-QdkjUrG6DsZ3wR-71cdCOnArg~MJzs-0fKM8KXDq~erS0j00D7UX9Nj3qMLc , and access the Alzheimer's Society guides for essential services at: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/dementia-friendly-resources/organisations/resources

In the UK, half a million older people report going 5-6 days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone, while a younger cohort aged 16-29 are now reporting loneliness twice as much as those over 70. So in this episode, Chris Fitch spoke to Amy Perrin from the only charity in the UK dedicated to tackling loneliness: the Marmalade Trust (named after Paddington Bear's friendly qualities). Chris asked Amy about the extent of loneliness across the UK, what types of support essential services can realistically give to people who are lonely, and just how we can start a conversation about loneliness from scratch. Amy Perrin: www.linkedin.com/in/amy-perrin-marmaladetrust | Marmalade Trust: www.marmaladetrust.org/stats | Loneliness Awareness Week (10-16th June): www.lonelinessawarenessweek.org

In this episode, we focus on the 1-in-5 UK consumers living with some form of facial or bodily scarring, mark, or condition that makes them look or feel significantly different. Known as ‘visible difference', our host Chris Fitch talks to Sudha Vijay from the charity Changing Faces about her experiences as a consumer with visible difference, while Jane Rodrick and Michaela Baker explain the approach that Lloyds Banking Group staff are taking in branches and face-to-face contact with customers like Sudha.

Around 12 million UK adults - 1-in-every-5 of our customers - are living with hearing loss which makes following speech and conversations difficult. Inclusion specialist Tim Scannell – profoundly deaf and a BSL user – joins Chris Fitch to discuss improvements to essential service design and operation, and what can be done to avoid customers with hearing loss feeling overlooked, forgotten, or treated as an ‘after-thought' by our services. More on Tim's work is at www.timscannell.co.uk and www.linkedin.com/in/tim-scannell. You can also watch this podcast with BSL interpretation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OB_NeZLOFU&feature=youtu.be

Everyone is talking about the importance of ‘lived experience' and ‘experts by experience', but what exactly do these phrases mean?  Just how do we practically involve people with this experience in our work? And what difference does it all make anyway? Answering these questions is researcher, writer, and lived experience expert Dan Holloway (from Oxford University spin-out Rogue Interrobang), and asking them is our host Chris Fitch.

Like vulnerability, trust matters. Behavioural scientist, Charlie Nixon from Cowry Consulting talks to Chris Fitch about how trust determines what products we buy, which organisations we agree to let deliver our essential services, and just what we tell these firms about ourselves. And, most importantly, how vulnerable consumers decide who is trustworthy and who is not? Charlie can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnbnixon/ and Cowry at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cowry-consulting/ In the podcast, Charlie also talks about the following resources: David Maisters “The Trusted Advisor”( https://bit.ly/3Su34oi), Ken Rotenburg “The Psychology of Trust” (https://amzn.to/3SJvUCp) and Paul Zak on the Harvard Business Review on “the Neuroscience of Trust” (https://uk01.z.antigena.com/l/Hi2Fxuahf8j2KNJlXvG7XYgAjY64Ur-2jHfcSIIxbXFu-f9g3x-SvaphvaZON5SXt9SIobgrdRKAov8SFKNg88l4Q9qrUpkUQV~uQvZl5~-tZ~vqRKqWJLZxGOj1Cz0dwQul3mRej2tkJ27JqIa-KHrvFMy7fmLuIIf-rdRAZexnnuh0PmxkMsIm0a7xwzGNfWwyUYlIga8VbsIbwBRhpYib325hU81nI-3~pCnbf~ZURYXE_rq5hDDWJEmvmLPV5dlooekJ5zuigy7JR2u9 ).

This episode focuses on stammering (also known as stuttering). Talking with Lyndsay Edgington from the national stammering charity STAMMA, our host Chris Fitch listens as Lyndsay explains how staff in banks, energy, and retail organisations can better understand and meet the needs of the 1 in 100 customers who will stammer. You can find out more about STAMMA at https://stamma.org/, including their guide for contact centre staff https://stamma.org/about-stammering/stammering-customer-contact, while Lyndsay is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsay-edgington-672090198/

In this episode on empathy, Chris Fitch asks Mathieu Lajante: just what is empathy? Is it possible to train people to become more empathetic? And are empathy training courses a worthwhile investment in terms of time, money, and results for our organisations and staff? Mathieu is Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, Director of its Consumer Neuroscience Laboratory, and lead author of a new review of the scientific literature on the effectiveness of empathy training. More at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathieu-lajante-ph-d-b5b3461b2/?originalSubdomain=ca and mathieu.lajante@torontomu.ca, while Mathieu's paper is at: https://uk01.z.antigena.com/l/Bk274bwsgooqOwaAQymiEvetfqZ4yYl0wu2ZtR061K7P42Vw9fKOul1EC~E15OcpYSuUGhJJrh-rWbeA3NEPQKTnCyGIdaJ~Q0YMeOyg8B_~ekrapyJ-_xDAsXK2Jx82yIx3X2SFp0FLzmXassrsSZF3OOk7a-o4wLojWWI9gMwDssPMVvaKyYc0qaNlnQCRQqio

For this fascinating ‘end of 2023' episode, Lee Walls talks to Chris Fitch about the science, experience, and lessons for life and vulnerability, of being a fire-walker. Lee explains how walking over 350 degree red hot coals can help understand and reframe situations of personal and customer vulnerability, and how her own lived experience of alcohol addiction led to her stepping into, and onto, fire-pits across the world. Lee and Firewalk Scotland can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-walls and https://www.firewalkscotland.co.uk/

Katie Mackay and Jack Hatcher – from the Nationwide Building Society – talk to Chris Fitch about their ‘Speak Easy' initiative to support non-speaking and non-verbal customers. Katie explains how her experiences of being non-speaking in certain situations informed its development, while Jack shares findings and communication lessons from the ‘Speak Easy' pilot in Nationwide branches. You can find both on LinkedIn, and access the finalised ‘Speak Easy' card system at: speakeasy@nationwide.co.uk | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-mackay-a2a90512a/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-hatcher/

Joshua Aspden – a specialist in financial inclusion among refugee and asylum seeker populations joins Chris Fitch to talk about his work in helping helped thousands of people to make sense with not just a new country and culture, but with an entirely different system of financial and essential services. Josh talks about his own experience of being new to the UK, his work with asylum seekers and refugees, and the difficulties and vulnerabilities that people can experience with money. Josh can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-aspden-0730423b/

Best-selling author Tim Farmer joins Chris Fitch to chat about mental capacity, decision-making, and his latest book “Grandpa on a Skateboard. The practicalities of assessing mental capacity and unwise decisions”. Clinical Director at Comentis, Tim takes Chris on a tour of the practical action needed to identify and support customers with decision-making limitations (both online and off-line), as well as explaining the definitions and law that can surround and cloud this topic. More on Tim and the work of Comentis (the cognitive assessment specialists) can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timfarmertsf/

Steve Donovan from Ovo Energy talks with Chris Fitch about a tool that everyone working with customers will use every single day, but which most of us probably don't give enough attention, care, or love to: our voice. Steve walks Chris through the Ovo training team's ‘tone of voice' model (covering pitch, pace, volume, energy, and articulation), talks about using this with vulnerable customers, and shares his top tips on how to protect and look after our voices. Steve is Vulnerability Lead at Ovo Energy and can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-donovan-865a40131/

Rose walks our host Dr Chris Fitch through the science, experience, and impact of ‘being cold'. Explaining how the cold affects us in physical, mental, financial, and social terms, Rose outlines the actions that staff can take to help customers likely to experience detriment from colder temperatures and fuel poverty. Inclusive designer and researcher for a fair, low carbon energy future, you can find out more about Rose and Energy Systems Catapult at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-chard-35526625/

Elizabeth discusses her own experience of chronic pain, how it affects millions of customers in the UK on a daily basis, and how organisations can work to support customers living with it. Advocate, policy specialist, and writer, you can find out more about Elizabeth at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethblakelock/

Phil shares new research data on what essential service firms are saying their biggest themes, fears, and challenges are for consumer vulnerability in 2023/2024. Senior Training Consultant at the Money Advice Trust, Phil can be found at: https://www.moneyadvicetrust.org.uk/vulnerability

Sarah talks about working more effectively with trans customers, life as a transwoman, and how she is bringing about change herself. Co-founder of Simply Equality and Joint Head of Equality and Diversity at Oxford University, Sarah can be found at: https://www.simplyequality.com/

Back in February, The Financial Conduct Authority published its finalised vulnerability guidance. As firms continue their work to translate these expectations into practical action, it is made clear by the FCA that firms need to be able to evidence that their outcomes for vulnerable customers are as good as those of other customers. So, just what is an 'outcome' and how do we decide which outcomes we need to monitor? Why do they matter so much when it comes to vulnerability? and most importantly, how do firms go about doing all of this? Joining Vulnerability Lead Consultant Chris Fitch to answer these questions and more are: Peter Tutton - StepChange, Head of Policy Jane Rodrick - Lloyds, Head of Customer Vulnerability Ian Phillips - Vulnerability Academy, Co-Facilitator. Find out more about the Vulnerability Academy in partnership with UK Finance here: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/events-training/vulnerability-academy-improving-outcomes-customers-vulnerable-circumstances

‘Expert by experience’ is increasingly recognised as an approach to help ensure markets are inclusive, especially for customers in vulnerable circumstances. Charities and people with a lived experience of vulnerability want to increasingly shape the thinking and practice of organisations. Most regulators (including the FCA) recognise this and expect firms to consider such an approach. However, just how do organisations practically do this when there are 28 million vulnerable customers (all with different needs) and just 24 hours in a day to make this all work? Our latest podcast recorded as part of MALG's Virtual Connect, brings together five experts to explain just what an ‘expert by experience’ is, how organisations go about selecting which experts and charities to work with and what difference this engagement can make to the way in which organisations operate. Joining our Vulnerability Lead Consultant, Chris Fitch are: Multi award-winning disability campaigner and Euan’s Guide Ambassador, Jon Attenborough. Head of Customer Vulnerability, Strategy, Insight and Engagement at Lloyds Banking Group, and Vulnerability Academy graduate Jane Rodrick. Chair of the Money Advice Hub, St Georges House Leadership Fellow, and service design innovator, Sam Nurse. Managing Director at Three Hands, an organisation that brings people with lived experience of vulnerability with organisations who want to understand and connect with the lived experience perspective, Jan Levy. Head of Corporate Engagement at Fair By Design (funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust), Carl Packman. www.moneyadvicetrust.org

To mark the release of the finalised FCA vulnerability guidance, the Money Advice Trust held a special webinar to discuss what the guidance means for firms and how you and your organisation can change the regulator’s expectations into reality for your customers. Joining Vulnerability Lead Consultant, Chris Fitch for a very special discussion on the content of the FCA guidance are: - Sarah McKenzie - FCA, Head of Consumer Strategy and Policy - Mike Songer - Lloyds, Director Group Customer Vulnerability - Fiona Turner - UK Finance, Head of Vulnerability - Tim Hawley - Capital One, Head of Customer Vulnerability - Ian Phillips - Vulnerability Academy, Co-Facilitator Listen for insight, practical discussion, and the opportunity to hear directly from the FCA what your firm should do in response to vulnerability. You can also download our new free whitepaper to help your firm meet the FCA expectations and achieve positive outcomes for your vulnerable customers here: https://mailchi.mp/fd7a2c10e676/meeting-expectations-and-achieving-outcomes

There is an increasing focus on inclusive design from industry regulators and firms themselves. But what does ‘inclusive design’ really mean? How can firms – and regulators - translate this concept into practical action to make sure that products, services and markets work well for all? Marking the launch of two new, practical guides on inclusive design for firms and regulators by the Money Advice Trust and Fair By Design, this podcast explores these questions and more – giving you practical tips on how to utilise inclusive design in your own work. To download the guides mentioned in this podcast: https://mailchi.mp/moneyadvicetrust.org/design Chaired by the Money Advice Trust's Vulnerability Lead Consultant Chris Fitch, you will hear from: - The author of the practical guide for firms, Bailey Kursar. - Martin Coppack, the Director of Fair By Design giving an overview of the new guides. - Jenny Smedley, Head of Customer Segmentation & Propositions, Lloyds Bank. - David Atkins, Head of Group Customer Vulnerability, Lloyds Bank. - An expert by experience who will talk about the practical difference that inclusive products, services and markets can make.

To mark the launch of new GDPR guidance from the Money Advice Trust and Money Advice Liaison Group Ltd (MALG), we discuss how firms can meet data protection regulation and support customers in vulnerable circumstances. You will hear from two of the authors of the guide, Chris Fitch – Money Advice Trust Vulnerability Lead Consultant – and Robert Bell – a data protection expert. They will be joined in conversation by;  Paul Smee, Chair of MALG  Nina Best, Senior Legal Counsel and Data Protection Officer, Capital One Dan Holloway, Writer and Lived Experience Expert  The panel will discuss how firms can meet data protection regulation and support vulnerable customer needs, while keeping this process practically simple. You can download the guides here: https://mailchi.mp/moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability-gdpr-and-disclosure-practical-guidance-for-creditors-and-advisers

Part 2 of the vulnerability and identity conversation: As we now focus on the move from identification to conversation with customers in vulnerable circumstances, our expert panel discuss how firms can start these important conversations, the techniques that exist for doing this and – most critically – how do we get customers to welcome our intervention? Joining Chris Fitch in the identification conversation to share their strategies are: Laura Tough - Nationwide Dan Clarke - Monzo Mark Fiander - Gain Credit Dr Elizabeth Blakelock - Citizens Advice Subscribe to our Vulnerability Matters newsletter for updates on future webinars: https://mailchi.mp/moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability-matters-newsletter

Identifying when someone is vulnerable is rarely simple, every consumer is different and their cues, clues, and signs of vulnerability will differ too. As technology and the way creditor staff communicate with customers continues to evolve, identification is no longer exclusive to voice-to-voice, or face-to-face settings and now includes communication platforms via digital channels, in-app chat, transaction data and more. How do we identify a vulnerable consumer and how do we realistically do this across channels? And once we’ve done this, how do we make the move from identification to conversation? Joining Chris Fitch, our Vulnerability Lead Consultant, in conversation to answer these questions and more are: Laura Tough - Nationwide Dan Clarke - Monzo Mark Fiander - Gain Credit Dr Elizabeth Blakelock - Citizens Advice

Some argue that ‘design’ is the new tool for tackling vulnerability: • regulators are telling firms to design inclusively • firms are telling staff to design with vulnerability in mind • and products and services are now appearing for once overlooked consumer groups. But just what is ‘design’ when it comes to vulnerability? Can we really design inclusively, accessibly, and for everyone at the same time? Chris Fitch, our Vulnerability Lead Consultant, is joined in conversation by: Tim Hawley - Head of Customer Vulnerability, Capital One Bailey Kursar - CEO & Founder, Touco Sian Williams - Director of Policy and Innovation, Toynbee Hall Dr Rose Chard - Consumer Insight Specialist, Energy Systems Catapult Subscribe to our Vulnerability Matters newsletter for updates on future webinars, podcasts and training resources for creditors: https://mailchi.mp/moneyadvicetrust.org/vulnerability-matters-newsletter