A PIONEERING scheme in Tenbury that helps people in difficult financial circumstances is on a fundraising campaign.

The Tenbury No Interest Loans Scheme is a cutting-edge project that is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country.

It was introduced into Tenbury by its founder Jane Newton who brought the idea to the UK from Australia.

In addition to Tenbury, the scheme has also been launched in Ludlow and Leominster.

But the number of people who can be helped is dependent upon the amount of money that comes in.

“Most of our funding comes from an anonymous benefactor,” said Laura Forbes, administrator for NILS, based in Teme Court in Tenbury.

There is also some income from grants, local fundraising, donations and legacies.

But the scheme wants to do more to raise its own funds and it will be holding a special event in the Pump Rooms in Tenbury on Saturday, June 17.

“We have chosen this because it coincides with the Music Festival and we hope that there will be a lot of people in the town from the local area and visitors,” said Laura Forbes.

“The NILS scheme ‘won’ four hours' free use of The Pump Rooms and this seemed to be the ideal day so we shall be open from 10am until 2pm.

“There are also other fundraising events throughout the year, including a Christmas Fair, but this one in June is especially important.”

A number of features make the Tenbury NILS different from other forms of finance for people facing difficult financial circumstances.

There is no interest charged or administration fee. This is different to credit unions where a low level of interest is charged.

But the biggest difference is that the ‘loans’ are not paid as cash but in the form of credits that can be used as far as possible with local suppliers to buy essential items.

In this way, the spend is, as far as is practicable, kept within the local economy.

Initially, the ‘loans’ were for the purchase of domestic items such as washing machines and cookers but this has now been extended to include computers, school uniforms and other essentials.

Loans can be for variable amounts, usually up to around £400. This is usually repaid over a period of 12 to 24 months and, in some cases, repayments can be as little as £1 a week.

“The idea is to give people in very difficult financial circumstances, and who would not have access to normal credit, the ability to buy essential items,” added Laura Forbes.

“We want to provide an option that is not going to loan sharks, money-lenders or pay-day loans where the level of interest is very high and there is a great danger of making a bad situation even worse.”

The scheme says that it tries to be flexible and does not have major problems with people not making repayments.

As many of the customers are on benefits, this is an option of recovering money directly from the agencies that pay benefits but this is very much a last resort.