Alistair Pate, Kensington Mortgages

Kensington first did some research about three years ago into young people and finance and there were some interesting issues thrown up.

One of them was that young people are feeling under pressure, especially in recent years, to become part of the consumer culture, in terms of designer labels and brands. These young people seem to value learning about day-to-day financial living – to avoid them getting into difficulties. It does seem, however, that financial education is becoming more and more involved in the national curriculum.

It goes well beyond how to actually manage a bank account and more into how people should actually manage themselves in the future. So, effectively they are being taught what having a loan or a credit card means and what the implications of such products are. Rather than just relying on somebody reading terms and conditions, people are actually being taught what these things mean.

Anne Gunther, Standard Life Bank

Standard Life believes that financial education will become part of the school curriculum and it is actively involved in helping to bring this about. I support the work of the Personal Finance and Education Group, an educational charity which brings together teachers, government, consumer bodies, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and finance industry representatives.

Its mission is to promote and facilitate the education of all UK school students (including special needs) about financial matters so that they can make informed decisions about their personal finances and their long-term financial security. It aims to do this by developing the skills and confidence of teachers in the area of personal finance education. The public’s financial health will benefit in two ways. First, consumers will be more knowledgeable and discerning with regard to their personal finances. Second, providers of financial services will need to deliver better products to a more discerning consumer.

Helen Davis, Inter Alliance

I do not think financial education is likely to get onto the main curriculum because of the necessary concentration on the core subjects, but there is certainly scope to include more on personal finance under PSE (Personal and Social Education).

There are very strong pressures on young people to spend beyond their ability to repay and this, together with an expectation of debt through student loans, means that many start their working lives on the wrong foot.

A clear understanding of how to manage money and plan for the longer term is vital when one considers the current environment. A reduction in long-term employment, the near disappearance of final salary pension schemes, an ever-decreasing state pension and an increasing tax burden are all growing concerns.

Guy Batchelor, Platform

Financial services companies have a duty to ensure transparency of product terms and conditions and regulators must ensure a level playing field, but active, informed consumers are the best way to ensure a fair market.

Ensuring school leavers have basic numeracy skills, with an understanding of interest rates and how savings, mortgages, insurance and pensions work, will help them plan for their needs and be less reliant on state intervention and support.

Proposals from the FSA go a long way towards achieving this, but financial education remains optional. It should be a compulsory part of the curriculum, and Britannia has stated that it would be happy to work with the Government and FSA to help deliver it. Better education would help borrowers understand the commitment they are making when buying a mortgage.

Jill Stevens, Experian

I personally think that it is a terribly important part of the financial capability strategy to add financial education to the curriculum and that it should happen. We can only do so much with people who are credit-active and taking out different financial products at the moment.

However, if we equip the consumers of the future with the skills and the necessary knowledge as to how to get the information that they need at the point when they are, for example applying for credit, then we are creating a much more financially healthy society.

If financial and personal education becomes an important part of the school curriculum, it is vital that teachers are given the confidence and the tools to teach personal finance to their pupils. After all, you cannot just ask teachers to teach a new subject without giving them the resources they need to to do it.

Karen Monaghan, The Kingsland Consultancy

I would certainly hope that financial education will become part of the school curriculum in the future. Not only would it help young people to understand what their future financial needs might be – such as savings, mortgages and pension provision, and understand how these work – but it could be useful to highlight the consequences of borrowing money.

It seems that many young people are being offered credit wherever they go, not to mention any debts they may have through loans from university education, and perhaps educating young people about the consequences of not being able to repay their debts and the knock-on effect this can have in future life. It may make them think more carefully about what they take on.