The e-petition for compulsory financial education never did make much sense. It is not getting any better after promoter Martin Lewis claimed his latest champion. Lewis, founder of bargain-hunters’ website moneysaving expert, says 200 MPs have signed the petition. That’s getting on for a third of all MPs in the [...]]]>

Ed Balls Photo: Jarvin

The e-petition for compulsory financial education never did make much sense. It is not getting any better after promoter Martin Lewis claimed his latest champion. Lewis, founder of bargain-hunters’ website moneysaving expert, says 200 MPs have signed the petition. That’s getting on for a third of all MPs in the Commons. Today he reveals that shadow chancellor Ed Balls is a supporter.

Bear in mind that the point of the e-petition is to secure a parliamentary debate. If 200-plus MPs, including the shadow chancellor, lack the influence, ability or nous between them to organise even a parliamentary debate… they must be the most clueless bunch of legislators imaginable.

It doesn’t make sense. Legislators don’t try to influence policy by signing petitions set up by the public. It’s absurd. Someone is mocking someone.

It could be argued that the e-petition is necessary and useful as a litmus-test of public opinion. If a high proportion of the public back a move, MPs ought not to ignore it. The trouble is that the moneysaving expert numbers don’t look very good. Currently 64,000 people have signed the e-petition, which was launched over a month ago. The moneysaving expert website claims that 8 million people from the UK visit the site every month. In other words, the support among Martin Lewis’s loyal followers is around 0.8 per cent. The petition is not backed by 99.2 per cent of those who visit his website. What kind of mandate is that?

“I would miss a payment on an excisting financial commitment if it meant I caould have what I wanted now”

No evidence of much proofreading in that sentence. Hasn’t been produced with care and attention. Sloppy, you might say. Rushed, and thoughtless.

Which is odd, because it comes from a lavishly-illustrated, high-profile report produced [...]]]>

“I would miss a payment on an excisting financial commitment if it meant I caould have what I wanted now”

No evidence of much proofreading in that sentence. Hasn’t been produced with care and attention. Sloppy, you might say. Rushed, and thoughtless.

Which is odd, because it comes from a lavishly-illustrated, high-profile report produced by the media department of Barclays bank. Normally such a financial institution would have the highest standards for its printed materials. It can afford to.

Unfortunately this is the publication, Building money management skills in young people, which marks the long-awaited launch of Barclays’ financial education partnership with three youth charities.

Several similar proofreading errors can be found in the 16-page report. The first chart, showing young people’s attitudes to money based on research commissioned by Barclays, duplicates one statement with different data. Sentences are garbled and incoherent.

The research itself is unimpressive – a hastily commissioned survey carried out by pollsters. It was done in January this year, well after the detail of the partnerships were devised. Which doesn’t suggest that they’re planning to base the project on any quality research. Reference to any independent high-quality research on young people’s financial capability from recent years is lacking.

Why is it so shoddy? That is genuinely surprising, given the press reports that claim Barclays is intending to spend £15 million over three years on this new financial skills programme.

Perhaps the whole thing is merely a promotion for Barclays. The final paragraph of the report, which mentions Barclays four times in three sentences, suggests so. (And they never spelt it Bracalys once):

Barclays Money Skills is specifically tailored to respond to the diverse needs of this age group. The involvement of Barclays partner charities is central to the Barclays Money Skills programme’s ongoing success. By harnessing a range of learning strategies, including peer-to-peer mentoring, Barclays Money Skills will be able to equip generations of young people with the skills they need in the years ahead.

Well maybe. But if they are serious about providing quality learning opportunities they will have to raise their game considerably. This is a badly produced report with poor content.