Money Advice Scotland looks to expand membership of Housing Association money advisers

Money Advice Scotland is looking to expand its membership of Housing Association money advisers. Your unique insight of being a money adviser in the housing sector would be highly beneficial to our policy work, and we can offer several benefits which are outlined below.

Free

Membership of Money Advice Scotland is free, as are our members events and policy discussion sessions. 

Individual basis

Membership is for the individual adviser rather than the organisation. This means that it’s easier for members to engage directly with us and other advisers. 

Join a community

Becoming a member of Money Advice Scotland means joining a community of advisers, all working in the money advice sector in Scotland. Members have access to our dedicated adviser forum on Basecamp where you can connect with fellow advisers, raise policy concerns, and share information on anything you think is relevant for other members. Many members use this forum to ask questions and receive support on everything from obtaining creditor contact details to getting help with a tricky case, as well as catching up on sector news. For those advisers who are the only one in their organisation, being part of a community of others working in money advice provides a network that they may not have had access to before.

Policy work

At Money Advice Scotland, our members’ insight is integral to our policy work. Becoming a member of MAS comes with the opportunity to share your evidence and experience to influence policy. Our policy asks, responses to consultations and contributions to working groups are all based on our members’ views and evidence of the issues facing them and their clients. We hold regular discussion sessions for members ahead of key policy activity and provide other ways (e.g. surveys) for members to feed into our responses. We would very much welcome the perspectives of Housing Association money advisers to ensure that this unique insight is represented in our policy work. 

Events and training

Members have access to a variety of free members-only events. Our Policy Forum is hosted quarterly, and is a great opportunity for members to come together to discuss current policy issues and concerns. We also host quarterly ‘tea break’ sessions which are informal Teams calls whereby advisers can connect with others in the sector. We host a variety of other events throughout the year, as well as several training programmes including MATRICS and our adviser wellbeing project.

Newsletter 

MAS members receive a dedicated monthly newsletter, helping advisers stay up to date with what’s happening in the money advice sector and setting out ways that they can get involved in our work. Members can also use the newsletter to share information with our membership (of around 700 money advisers in Scotland).

What our current members say when asked how MAS has helped them in their work:

• I also think that MAS represents "Money Advisors" in the positive way that our employers are not so keen/able to do.
• Basecamp- great for asking questions and getting helpful advice
• Updating and reinforcing knowledge
• MAS provides an amazing support from Matrics, guides and wellbeing. They are an essential organisation for money advice and money advisers.
• Allowed me to develop my mentoring skills, kept me up to date in legislation and allowed me to network and problem solve via basecamp with colleagues across the sector
• As I am the only advisor in my company it has kept me informed of changes & in touch with things going on in the sector
• Better understanding how policy and legislation impact my work.
• Kept me up to date with the sector and provide me a great forum for asking questions and finding out other workers experiences
• Being part of the forums Policy work Basecamp
• Proving networking and collaboration via Basecamp. Providing current information - i.e. changes in legislation Providing training
• To understand how government policy impacts and applies to delivering advice to our clients. Being able to stay updated with ongoing policy and policy changes.

To become a member, simply complete this short form. If you would like to know more or have any questions, feel free to contact policy@moneyadvicescotland.org.uk.