Citizens Advice

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The Citizens Advice, formally the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, is a network of ~316 independent charities throughout the UK that give free, confidential information and advice to assist people with money, legal, consumer and other problems.

The twin aims of the Citizens Advice service are "to provide the advice people need for the problems they face" and secondly "to improve the policies and principles that affect people's lives". This research and campaigns agenda - also known as "social policy" - is more preventative in nature and designed to stop problems arising in the first place.

The Citizens Advice service in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland is guided by four principles. These are:[ref50] A free service; Confidentiality; Impartiality; Independence.

Although it is an independent and impartial organisation, Citizens Advice has an odd relationship with Govt in that it is dependent upon Govt for funding, but also acts as a high-profile critic of govt policy.

All Citizens Advice Bureaux and workers for the bureaux must adhere to these principles, and bureaux must demonstrate that they adhere to these principles in order to retain membership of the national umbrella bodies. Citizens Advice state that their vision "is that everyone will be able to access free advice to find a way forward".[ref4] They also state that their "charitable mission is to provide advice that helps people to overcome their problems and come together to campaign on big issues when their voices need to be heard".[ref4]


Timelines

Citizens Advice

  • 2016: Citizens Advice was featured in a BBC documentary called Battling with Benefits. It explored the work of Bridgend Citizens Advice in Wales and their work on issues such as the bedroom tax, Job Seekers' Allowance "sanctions" and appeals for Employment Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment in light of the Conservative Government's cuts to the social security system.
  • 2015: the organisation's revenues was £88.2 million.[ref4]
  • 2015: Citizens Advice piloted a webchat service allowing people to contact Citizens Advice advisers online[ref48] both via online instant messenger service and via e-mail. Data from 2015 showed that 7% of all enquiries to Citizens Advice were through the webchat service[ref47] and 80,000 webchat enquiries were answered.[ref49]
  • 2015: Citizens Advice adopted a rebrand dropping the 'Bureau' from its name. The rebrand will cost £1 million which includes £215,000 for research and development, £450,000 in financial support to implement the changes and £300,000 to cover local costs such as posters and materials.[ref45] The rebrand was criticised by Steve Johnson the Chief Executive Officer of Advice UK who described it as "facile".[ref46] However, evidence from Citizens Advice focus groups found that while the charity was well known the brand was considered somewhat “tired” or “old fashioned”.[ref47]

Citizens Advice Bureau

  • 2015: Citizens Advice began to deliver Pension Wise guidance.[ref44]
  • 2014: Citizens Advice took over the role of Consumer Futures (previously Consumer Focus) which represents consumers of regulated industries (energy and the postal service).[ref37]
  • 2014: Citizens Advice took over the role that Victim Support played in supporting court witnesses. This contract is worth £24m. This service was renamed the Witness Service.[ref43]
  • 2012-2013: Citizens Advice adopted an Equality Strategy known as 'Stand Up For Equality' which aims to embed an equality agenda in all work Citizens Advice does.[ref37][ref42]
  • 2010: The current Chief Executive Gillian Guy took over her role,[ref6] and under her leadership a modernisation process has taken place which has involved a rebrand of the Citizens Advice service and the introduction of new advice methods including webchat. At the start of her tenure Citizens Advice faced a budget cut of 9%[ref40] however finances have recently improved with the charity increasing its income from £62m – £77m between 2013 – 2015.[ref41] This was largely a result of Citizens Advice taking over roles that were previously performed by the quangos the Office of Fair Trading and #Consumer Futures.[ref41]
  • 2008/9: there were 416 member bureaux offering advice from over 3,300 locations in England and Wales[38] and a further 22 bureaux in Northern Ireland all of which are independent charities. Despite the large number of volunteers working for the organisation, level of demand for the service often far outstrips resources. Citizens Advice has recently begun looking at ways to reach all members of the community through new mediums such as email advice and digital TV. Another initiative has been allowing university students to train as advisers to gain credits toward their degree. This was pioneered by a partnership between the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Citizens Advice Bureau and is also now available at Birmingham City University, University of Reading, University of Northampton, Glasgow Caledonian University, and University of Glasgow. Training as a Citizens Advice adviser can earn a person up to six months off a training contract if training as a solicitor.[ref39]
  • 2007/08: 426 member Citizens Advice Bureaux across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each is an independent registered charity helping people to resolve their legal money and other problems by providing free advice and influencing policy makers. The network still relies on over 20,000 trained volunteers to keep the service running and provides free advice from 3,200 locations, (in bureaux and and at community outreach venues) as well as by phone, in people's homes and on the internet. Visits to www.adviceguide.org.uk, our public advice website rose to 7.3m.

National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux

  • 2003: Citizens Advice Bureau: the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux changed its operating name. In Wales, it became Cyngor ar Bopeth Cymru, Citizens Advice Cymru.
  • 2002: Cyngor ar Bopeth, "advice on everything": bureaux in Wales adopted a new logo. The service received a £20m grant from the govt's Capital Modernisation Fund to provide IT infrastructure to roll out e-govt services to CAB clients.
  • 1999: adviceguide.org.ukArchive-org-sm.svg was launched, allowing people to access advice online.
  • 1973: The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux was given a development grant from the govt to extend the network.[1]
  • 1972: The Citizens Advice service became independent. Before then, the national organisation was part of the National Council of Social Services, and most bureaux were run by the local Council for Voluntary Services.
  • 1960: 416 bureaux remained, but the govt restored funding.[1]
  • 1957: The Conservative govt passed the Rent Act 1957, a highly contentious piece of legislation supposed to resolve the housing shortage problem by removing the statutory restrictions on the rents of privately let accommodation, which had been in place since the outbreak of WW1. The theory was that, by abolishing rent controls, landlords would be encouraged to improve and invest in private rented property, thus increasing its availability. Additionally, Councils were encouraged to increase rent and enabled to sell stock.[2] Unsurprisingly, the consequences of the Act were extortion, evictions, speculation and property profiteering, which resulted in a major increase in pleas to the Bureaux for assistance.[3]
  • 1950s: Funding from the Ministry of Health was cut after the war, despite the success of the Citizens Advice Bureaux and the obvious need for the services that had been established; by 1953, the number of bureaux had halved. The service continued thanks to the support of charitable trusts such as the Nuffield Foundation, Carnegie Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.[1]
  • 1942: 1,074 bureaux were operational, entirely run by volunteers, in a wide range of improvised offices such as cafes, church halls, private homes and air raid shelters. The Independent describe Citizens Advice at this time as "clearing houses for family and personal problems that abound from war conditions" with common issues being lost ration books and debt issues as men went off to fight in World War II.[4]
  • Sept.1939: 200 bureaux opened, the day after World War II was declared, run by volunteers working from public buildings and private houses.[1] Most of these first bureau were offshoots of established organisations in large cities, such as the Charity Organisation Society (now Family Action), the London Council of Social Service, the Liverpool Personal Service Society, the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service, and the Birmingham Citizens' Society (now the Birmingham Council of Social Service).[ref29] Many bureaux were run by ‘people of standing’ in the community, such as the local bank manager.[5] Others were run by a range of groups, eg. Toc H, Rotary Clubs and Soroptomist Clubs.[ref28]
  • 1938: The National Council of Social Services (forerunner to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations) reported on how to meet the needs of the civilian population in the event of war. It recommended that ‘Citizens Advice Bureaux should be established throughout the country, particularly in the large cities and industrial areas where social disorganisation may be acute’.[5]
  • 1935: The Govt was considering the need for an information service linked to the fledgling Social Welfare Service.[1]
  • May.1924: The Betterton Report on Public Assistance Administration, although primarily concerned with reducing National Expenditure on public assistance, also recommended the development of communal services for the public benefit.[6]
Additional Sources: "The Story of the Citizens' Advice Bureaux", Margaret E Brasnett, The National Council of Social Service, 1964. ♦ History of the Citizens Advice service. Citizens Advice. Accessed Oct.11.2020.


nacab.org.ukArchive-org-sm.svg

Articles

  • Sept.18.2018: Loyalty costs customers £4bn a year, says Citizens Advice. Banks, insurers and telecoms providers face an investigation into how they treat long-standing customers after Citizens Advice said that loyalty was costing consumers more than £4bn a year. The charity has lodged a super-complaint with the Competition & Markets Authority after finding that households pay almost £900 a year too much on average across the mobile phone, broadband, insurance, savings, and mortgage markets. Andrew Ellson, The Times.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e CAB history. Citizens Advice. Original archived on Nov.20.2008.
  2. ^ "Raising Rachman: The Origins of the Rent Act, 1957", Alan G.V. Simmonds, Cambridge University Press, Dec.2002, ISBN: x
  3. ^ Consequences of Rent Act 1957 and Property Profiteering. House of Commons Debate, Vo.681, cc.1058-194, Hansard, Jul.22.1963.
  4. ^ Citizens Advice Bureau 75 year anniversary: Geese too loud? Lost false teeth? We can help! Celebrating seven decades of the CAB. Despite budget cuts, the CAB is still helping people in difficulty. Jack Simpson, The Independent, Sept.07.2014.
  5. ^ a b Advice on Everything – A History of the Citizens Advice Service in Harrow, 1939-2009. George Fisher, Harrow Citizens Advice Bureau, Nov.2009. Original archived on Feb.17.2011.
  6. ^ National Expenditure (Public Assistance). House of Commons Debate Vol.173, cc 548-91, Hansard, May.07.1924.