Dundee is claimed to be the seventh most deprived area in Scotland, behind Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and other west coast areas.

The Scottish Executive’s deputy communities minister, Johann Lamont, today launched Scotland’s first financial inclusion forum in Glasgow, handing out several millions of pounds to the country’s most deprived areas.

She said it was unacceptable that in Scotland there were areas where as many as one in five people had little or no experience of using basic financial services so many people took for granted, such as bank accounts or insurance.

Ms Lamont said, “I expect banks, local authorities, housing associations, credit unions and other key players to work together to provide access to bank accounts and affordable credit, to make saving possible, to help people understand and manage their everyday finances and ensure that information and advice are available when people get into debt.”

She said the large number of organisations at the forum, from banks to councils, had a shared responsibility for ensuring poverty was not exacerbated by lack of access to financial services.

A total of £10 million is to be disbursed over the next two years, and today Dundee City Council’s administration leader, Jill Shimi, said she welcomed the latest initiative designed to break the cycle of deprivation in the city.

She added that the council had always supported the growth of credit unions, which helped keep vulnerable people from the clutches of illegal loan sharks.