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The Treasury has already named the 12 members of the taskforce, which will be officially launched next Monday, but none of them will be from housing associations.

Associations have expressed astonishment at the snub, arguing that the sector should be involved because 80% of financially excluded people are social housing tenants.

The Treasury has earmarked 拢120m for the taskforce, which includes representatives from banks, the Audit Commission, Citizens Advice, advice group Services Against Financial Exclusion and the National Consumer Council.

The taskforce will promote financial inclusion by increasing access to banking and affordable credit. The Treasury also wants to increase access to face-to-face financial advice and is funding an extra 250,000 advice sessions to meet demand.

Andy Chaplin, programme manager of Change, London & Quadrant Housing Trust鈥檚 financial inclusion arm, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 surprising that the social housing sector does not have a voice at the table. There needs to be wider recognition that four out of five financially excluded people are social housing tenants. The housing sector has a key role to play in making financial inclusion happen.鈥�

There needs to be wider recognition that four out of five financially excluded people are social housing tenants

Andy Chaplin, L&Q

Last year, a group of London housing associations started a 拢1m project to encourage tenants to set up bank accounts so they could receive direct benefit payments (HT 13 August 2004, page 15).

Chaplin said the 10 associations involved 鈥� London & Quadrant, Circle 33, East Thames Group, Threshold Housing & Support, Metropolitan Housing Trust, and housing associations Family, Hyde, Gallions, Springboard and Orbit Bexley 鈥� had already spent about 拢500,000.

One association spokeswoman said she was 鈥渇rustrated and annoyed鈥� that the housing sector was not represented on the taskforce and therefore its work would not emphasise 鈥渨hat we鈥檝e been doing and the investment we鈥檝e made鈥�.

Chaplin said he had written to the Treasury to express his concern. He said: 鈥淟&Q has contributed significant funds to tackling this problem as we provide housing services to many financially excluded tenants. What we need to know is what capacity there will be for seats to be rotated or for co-option onto the taskforce.鈥�