Loans sharks project rolled out across UK

The scheme builds on pilot projects in Birmingham and Glasgow, which saw two specialist teams working to improve financial advice for people targeted by loan sharks and tackle criminals who illegally give out quick cash loans and often use threats of violence to extort large sums of money in return. In December, the Treasury announced funding of £1.2m would be made available for the pilots to be extended to Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool, and today’s announcement sees the roll-out of the project to every region in the UK in 2007-08, focussing on areas where the problem of illegal lending...