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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Archbishop attacks 'debt culture' | Archbishop attacks 'debt culture' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is to criticise the British economy's reliance on high levels of consumer debt. | Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is to criticise the British economy's reliance on high levels of consumer debt. |
| Dr Williams will warn the House of Lords that the poorest people are trapped in a cycle of borrowing. | Dr Williams will warn the House of Lords that the poorest people are trapped in a cycle of borrowing. |
| During a Lords debate tabled by Dr Williams, he will also call for tighter controls on credit firms. | During a Lords debate tabled by Dr Williams, he will also call for tighter controls on credit firms. |
| The archbishop is also expected to warn that children will be the biggest losers in an economic downturn. | The archbishop is also expected to warn that children will be the biggest losers in an economic downturn. |
| Poverty damages their education and aspiration, leading to social problems that the state will eventually have to confront, he will say. | Poverty damages their education and aspiration, leading to social problems that the state will eventually have to confront, he will say. |
| Loan sharks | |
| Dr Williams will blame irresponsible unsecured lending and punitive interest rates, as well as what he calls "doorstep lenders", for chronic indebtedness. | Dr Williams will blame irresponsible unsecured lending and punitive interest rates, as well as what he calls "doorstep lenders", for chronic indebtedness. |
| Speaking ahead of the debate, he said some doorstep lenders were charging borrowers rates of more than 1,000% over two years as their interest piled up. | |
| We need to look at what it means for the whole economy to be built on spiralling, almost uncontrolled debt Dr Rowan Williams | |
| Other companies, he said, were charging up to 30% to take cheques post-dated to an individual's pay-day. | |
| "That's the kind of thing which people need to know about and needs to be kept in check," he said. | |
| He also spoke of his concern that mainstream High Street banks have withdrawn from some of Britain's most impoverished areas, leaving loan sharks the only source of borrowing for many poor people. | |
| "We need to look at what it means for the whole economy to be built on spiralling, almost uncontrolled debt," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | "We need to look at what it means for the whole economy to be built on spiralling, almost uncontrolled debt," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. |
| "Among the poorest, the consequence is the erosion of family life. There is a need for the teaching of financial literacy." | |
| He will call for better education for children in managing money and government help for credit unions - financial co-operatives owned by members - to break the cycle of debt. | He will call for better education for children in managing money and government help for credit unions - financial co-operatives owned by members - to break the cycle of debt. |
| He said in the past 10 years a culture has developed where debt is normal for young people - in particular as a result of student loans. | |
| "For young people it does become crippling, especially for young children," he added. |