Gwefan Undebau Credyd Cymru

20 June 2022

Dear

ATISN 16349 - Credit Unions of Wales Website

Thank you for your request which I received on 24 May 2022 about funding given to support the Credit Unions of Wales website, digital marketing, social media and the role of the Credit Unions of Wales Policy Officer.  The information you requested is enclosed.

If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response.  Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at:

Information Rights Unit, 
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park, 
Cardiff, 
CF10 3NQ 

or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales

Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above.   

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF.

However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.

Yours sincerely

Following the Freedom of Information Request dated 24 May 2022 please find below a response to the questions:

1. The Credit Unions of Wales has recently launched a new branded website. How much funding has Welsh Government contributed to the development of the website and marketing through the website and social media?

In November 2021 Welsh Government provided £16,000 to Cambrian Credit Union to upgrade the Credit Unions of Wales website to specifically improve the client journey by automatically routing savings account applications directly through to local credit unions, to increase options on loan amounts and to allow more effective measurement of website traffic.

In November 2021 funding of £60,000 was awarded to Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union to support an intensive digital marketing campaign plus more traditional marketing approaches. The aim of the campaign which ran from December 2021 to March 2022 was to raise awareness of the affordable lending provided by credit unions in Wales, whether affiliated to Credit Unions of Wales, or not.

Welsh Government also provides funding to Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union for a National Marketing project with £29,170 provided per annum since April 2018.

2. Who commissioned the website? Which firm or individual was contracted to deliver the website and who provides administration of the website?

Cambrian Credit Union commissioned the website. Bright Collie was procured via an open procurement process in 2021/22 to build the website and design new branding.

Cambrian Credit Union are responsible for ongoing administration of the website.

3. Welsh Government funds the CUW Policy Officer. What is the Policy Officer’s role towards Credit Unions not involved with CUW? How much funding does Welsh Government contribute towards the Policy Officer post?

As The Policy Officer represents CUW she has no role towards CUs not involved with CUW. The role includes maintaining and facilitating links between Credit Unions of Wales and policy developments in Wales and strengthening the profile of the sector as an essential part of promoting financial inclusion.

The Policy Officer role and associated costs amount to £49,000 per annum.

4. Is the Policy Officer post employed (i.e. on the payroll) by an individual Credit Union? If not, who delivers the post?

Cardiff and Vale Credit Union act as the lead Credit Union for this funding, managing the post and overseeing the work undertaken by the Policy Officer.

5. Does the Policy Officer deliver the website and marketing, if not, who does?

Cambrian Credit Union are responsible for ongoing administration of the Credit Union of Wales website.

Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union oversee the marketing projects. Ceri Williams, Digital Ltd was contracted in 2021/22 to run the first digital marketing campaign during last winter, overseen by Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union. Dean Powell, Declare PR is contracted to support the National Marketing project providing traditional marketing, PR and support for individual credit unions plus analysis of website traffic, compilation and distribution of the monthly marketing update to all credit unions.

6. Does Welsh Government require quantifiable performance targets for the funding, both for the post, website, and marketing? If yes, can you please provide detailed progress figures set against the targets for the 2020-21 and 2021-22: post, website; and marketing. Can you specifically provide an analytics report for the website for 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Welsh Government requires all funded credit unions to set targets appropriate to the particular project and to provide quarterly monitoring reports as a condition of their grant funding.

The agreed targets for the Credit Union of Wales Policy Officer role are qualitative. Welsh Government officials discuss the policy officer’s performance with Cardiff and Vale Credit Union on a quarterly basis to ensure that the targets are being met. The Credit Union of Wales (CUW) upgrade of website and branding project were qualitative. This project was completed on time and within budget.

The 2021 Digital Marketing Campaign targets included both quantitive and qualitative targets. I attach a copy of the December 2021-March 2022 Digital Marketing Report at Annex 1(a). Some parts of the report have been redacted to protect commercial data.

The National Marketing project includes targets for Credit Union Wales website analytics, social media updates and monthly press cuttings.  Links to social media updates including 2020, 2021 and 2022 are attached at Annex 1(b).

Analytic reports for the CUW website for 2020 – 2021 and 2021 – 2022 are attached at annex 2 and 3 respectively.

Annex 1

(a) Redacted Document - Digital Marketing Report - December 2021-March                      2022

A PDF version of the redacted report is attached to the covering email.

(b) Link to National Marketing Project Social Media Updates for 2020 -2021 and 2021-2022

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