Vulnerability Matters

Can Ofgem’s 2025 Consumer Vulnerability Strategy really lead to better services? Just what is new about it? And how will it meet an army of challenges ranging from net-zero to the cost of living to market reform? Beth Martin lights up the strategy, explains how Ofgem will hold “firms’ feet to the fire” to deliver it, and outlines the everyday differences that consumers will notice. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Final%20CVS%2015042025-20250414111309.pdf

In this bonus episode, Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs returns to explore the newly released 2025 Financial Abuse Code from UK Finance. Building on a decade of development, the Code outlines seven pillars for firms to better identify and support customers. But how well will it protect victim-survivors of economic abuse? Nicola explains all to Chris Fitch. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicola-sharp-jeffs-obe-cf-frsa-685a646/ https://allthingseconomicabuse.com/ https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/202504/Financial%20Abuse%20Code%20report.pdf

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs has been the UK’s leading voice on economic abuse over the last two decades, and is now bringing about change on the global stage. In her first public conversation since stepping down as CEO of the charity she founded, Surviving Economic Abuse, Nicola explains what economic abuse means to her, the policy milestones and practical mountains she has encountered, and just how all essential services – not just financial, but including energy to gas to telecommunication companies – can act to both change and save victim-survivors lives. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nicola-sharp-jeffs-obe-cf-frsa-685a646 https://allthingseconomicabuse.com/

Chatter about 'inclusive design' has never been greater - but a significant difference exists between discussing the approach, and actually doing it. Jo Ellis and Katherine Snow explain how Tesco Bank made the shift from eulogising about inclusive design to actually embedding it in within the organisation. Outlining the process they followed, they describe to Chris Fitch the crests and challenges they encountered, how they overcame these, and provide a key case-study in ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’. Links: Jo Ellis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-ellis-b614a160/ Katherine Snow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinesnow/ New Inclusive Design training course - https://moneyadvicetrust.org/training-and-consultancy/nile/

Episode 44 - COGA – design’s best kept secret? by Money Advice Trust

Financial inclusion is in the spotlight - but what does it actually mean? Howard Taylor - Financial Inclusion Commissioner and PwC Director – explains all, and provides a simple, memorable, and surprisingly entertaining way to understand how the complex relationship between financial inclusion, vulnerability and accessibility works in practice. Howard also outlines the key pillars and pathways to inclusion, why 1990s sporting icon Ray Parlour is important to all this, and what the new Government Financial Inclusion Committee could mean for the UK. Howard Taylor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-taylor-55021825/ Financial Inclusion Commission - https://www.linkedin.com/company/ukfinclusion Financial Inclusion Committee - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-inclusion-committee

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