Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas from all at Citizens Advice Diss, Thetford & District

Welcome to our Christmas Newsletter bringing you up to date with our activities during the last few months. This is the first time we’ve sent this using Mail Chimp, and we hope you like the new format.

Marion Morse MBE
Chair of Trustees

<!–

–>

Celebrating Success

Client Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction surveys are conducted by our National Association, Citizens Advice (CitA).

The comments about Citizens Advice Diss, Thetford & District are very heartening:

The service I received was thorough and quick. I felt comfortable speaking to a stranger who was happy to give me solutions and advice. Even though the answers were not what I wanted to hear I understood the reasons behind them. I would recommend anyone to visit CAB. Very professional. Thank you.

I was very happy with the help I received. .the staff were extremely helpful and went out their way to help me …I would say to anyone it’s worth the wait… I could not have done this without the help of these lovely people. Many thanks for all your help.

The CAB gave myself the belief that I could deal with the issue and to know I had support… leaving myself relieved and know the CAB have my back so I can proceed to find an end to my issue.

Very professional and courteous, solved my issue without question. I’m very glad I went and would recommend the fabulous service they provide to anyone.

Leadership Assessment
It is a requirement of our membership of CitA that we are audited annually. This audit covers not just quality of advice but also Governance, Financial Management, Strategic Business Planning, Risk Assessment and Management, Operational and People Management and Equality Leadership.

We are graded under each of these categories and we have to produce evidence that we are carrying out CitA requirements. There are only three grades: Red, where there are issues of concern relating to the service remaining in operation, Amber, where there needs significant recovery work to be done, and Green, where the Local Citizens Advice (LCA) concerned has no outstanding issues. We are pleased to tell you that Citizens Advice Diss, Thetford and District is rated Green in all areas.This is recognition of the continuing hard work of the whole team, not just during the Assessment process but throughout the whole year.

<!–

–>

<!–

–>

<!–

–>

<!–

–>

Telephone Advice – delivering advice through Advice Line

As an LCA operating in a rural area, we are very conscious that clients cannot always visit us for advice. So in the last six months we have focussed our efforts to develop advice by telephone – our Adviceline Service. This enables clients to get access to an adviser if for any reason they cannot get to the office. An analysis of clients and their problems over one week has proved interesting and an invaluable resource as we consider our next service developments for the next three years.

What we found:

Age

The average age of clients dealt with was 44, which is younger than our average demographic generally. The youngest client was 22 and the oldest 77. This presents a different picture from our usual client profile, the majority of who are in the 50 to 64 age range. Citizens Advice research consistently identifies that younger clients have a preference for seeking advice by phone and this (albeit small) sample seems to bear this out.

What did we learn?

It is interesting that at least two clients spoken to said that they had asked a parent what to do about their problem and had been told to ‘go to Citizens Advice’.
As the organisation passes the milestone of its 80th year, it is perhaps unsurprising that knowledge of the services we provide is now being handed down through generations.

Also we recognised that we should challenge our own preconceptions about age and technical skill. The oldest client in our sample was 77 years old. We identified that he needed to claim Attendance Allowance and we gave him the telephone number to request the AA form for completion. We told him that when he received the form, it would have a date by which to return it and at that point he would need to contact us again on Adviceline again to request an appointment at his nearest LCA office. However, we also asked him for an e-mail address, which enabled us to send links to the .gov website following the call. The following day the client phoned Adviceline again, having accessed the link, downloaded and printed the form. We were then able to refer him to his local CA office, for a face-to-face appointment.

Case Study: As a result of a call to Adviceline we were able to help a young woman. She had been on her way out of the house to take a child to school when a High Court enforcement officer pushed his way past her into the house.The client owed money for a fine incurred by not having a TV licence. She is an existing client of ours and has significant mental health problems as well as her debt, and is struggling to manage. She was distraught when she phoned us and had fled the house with her daughter. due to the aggressive presentation of the bailiff. The client’s daughter was also very frightened and distressed and was refusing to go to school. Our client has struggled to keep her home and her child and is very vulnerable. We were able to tell the client to come to the office immediately, where a debt worker was able to contact the enforcement agent. A formal complaint was made to the enforcement agency, referring to their code of practice and a Bureau Evidence Form (BEF) was also submitted to CitA.

What we are learning from Adviceline

Calls to Adviceline are not always simple enquiries. There are many people who are experiencing serious problems and need complex phone advice and often follow up work. In nine instances, we e-mailed clients we had spoken to, giving them links to more comprehensive information and advice. In six instances, we phoned the client back with further information. And in one case we saw the client in person.

Clients with emergencies can be helped to get face-to-face advice more quickly if their need is such that this is warranted. The idea that face-to-face help is always more urgent than any need presenting via Adviceline is not necessarily correct.

Adviceline Client Issues:

The largest group of issues presented was Benefits, Tax credits and Universal Credit.

Employment was the next largest category and it was felt that these callers were people who might have found it difficult to access face-to-face advice as they were concerned about how the time this would take would impact negatively on already difficult work situations. In three cases, we were able to ask our volunteer employment specialist to telephone the clients on their regular volunteering day and provide advice.

We also spoke to several debt clients. In some instances, we were able to refer these clients to other LCAs. Both Dereham and Norwich have Money Advice Service funded debt projects and this was a very straightforward way of ensuring that these clients were able to access good quality debt advice. Other LCAs were extremely efficient in picking up the clients from referrals and contacting them, as well as providing information about how the referral had been managed and reassuring us that clients were not slipping through the net.

Problems with Relationships and Family were equal in number to debt queries. We received calls about child maintenance, property ownership between separating couples, social services interventions, child neglect and the impact of having adult non-dependent children at home.

Housing was also a significant category.

Consumer queries were generally referred to the Citizens Advice national consumer helpline – 08454 040506

We dealt with two clients experiencing direct discrimination, one on the grounds of disability and another because of the client’s sexuality.

We were initially overwhelmed by the range of issues, but later in the trial week began to enjoy not knowing what was going to present itself next and what resources we would need to deal with it.

There has been a longstanding belief nationally that local knowledge counts for little, as everything can be Googled.

We found our local knowledge of services to be invaluable. There is no substitute for an awareness of the quality and accessibility of local services. Where we referred people on, we did so with confidence that their issue would get picked up by an accredited advice service that would ensure the clients’ needs were best met.

The Work of Volunteers

Our Patron, the Princess Royal, speaking at the Citizens Advice National Conference held in November in Manchester said:

‘Your ability to evolve in those 80 years , to maintain that really important place in local communities, which is entirely relevant to those communities, says a lot about the organisation, but says even more about the volunteers who have been the backbone of the Service throughout its history. You are the bits that connect people to reality and how to solve the issues that face them’

The Broader Picture

This year national Citizens Advice, the ‘CAB’, the ‘Bureau’ will have been around for 80 years having first opened its doors on the 4th September 1939. As we reach the end of 2019, it is appropriate perhaps that we take a longer look at how our service to the public has changed and developed over this time.

Some things are the same. The service is still free, confidential, impartial, non-judgmental and for everyone. It is still rooted in the local community. The questions asked 80 years ago related to issues relevant in war time, but also issues of debt, homelessness, family breakdown, and missing persons.

In 2019 we are still meeting clients who have problems of debt, homelessness and family breakdown. Their problems are exacerbated by access to expensive credit through payday loans, insecure employment contracts, poor health and lack of good, affordable housing.

We are able to help people through difficult and complicated situations and it is clear that a significant change of circumstances, such as those identified above, will lead to people needing advice.

The Tools to do the Job

We now have tools and ways of helping people that our former colleagues could only dream about. Our information system, using technology for positive reasons through the use of Skype, digital phones systems and our case recording systems are invaluable resources to everyone in CADAT.

Working in Partnership

We are no longer a signposting agency and now work in partnership not just with other Local Citizens Advice (LCA’s) but other organisations that can provide specialist help. Our work with the Big C Cancer Charity is a good example of this and our Help Through Crisis project is proof that sustained support from groups working together can enable a client to resolve their difficulties and move forward.

Research and Campaigning

The information gathered in our Research and Campaigning work means we can raise issues of concern where a trend appears to be developing. Our Research and Campaign data helps Citizens Advice in Diss and Thetford tell councils, policy makers and politicians how they can make things better for our community.

How you can help us

There are many ways you could help as an individual or local business, including:

Volunteering your time in a range of roles
Making a one-off or regular donation
Raising free donations for us when you shop online through Easy Fundraising
Donating Dividend points earned at East of England Co-op to CADAT through the Community Support Card scheme (our Co-op charity number is 701190)
Donations of goods such as office supplies (notepads, stamps, A4 paper), or refreshments for volunteers
Leaving a donation in kind (tea, coffee, biscuits or tissues)
Supporting fundraising events to help us invest in the future of our service.

Donate

Raise money for us through online shopping

Our Services to clients in Diss and Thetford

While all our project based services such as Pension Wise, Big C and Energy Advice are flourishing, much of our work in the past few months has focused on Universal Credit and its impact.

115 clients have raised issues with us relating to having to claim online since we began providing Help to Claim in April 2019. Often people do not have a computer, access to the internet or have a poor Broadband Service.

The long wait (5 weeks or more) between claiming and the first payment, the levels of deductions from benefits for the repayment of Advance Payments, the real-time assessment periods and the payment of rent direct to claimants mean that making a claim for Universal Credit leads many clients to get into debt while they wait for their income to be established.

These long waits have meant that many people have had to use their local food banks, and we make regular referrals to our Waveney Food Banks, both in Diss and Thetford. As an LCA we are collecting food donations for our local food bank in Diss for Christmas.

An additional problem for many is the issue of paying for fuel, especially oil. We know from our research into energy costs in our area that paying for oil can be problematic, especially in the winter months. Our research has shown us that 11% of households in Norfolk suffer from fuel poverty and 15% are “off the gas grid” meaning they often have no choice but to either rely on oil or electricity. The average fuel poverty rate in Norfolk is higher than the 10% of households nationally.

Community Events

This year we have also spent time letting people know about our service through community events in both Diss and Thetford, and also in Norwich at the Norwich Pride celebration.

Looking forward to 2020

Ken Loach film:

In 2019 we were present at community screenings of the Ken Loach film “I, Daniel Blake” which showed a family trapped in the complexities of the benefit system.

In 2020 we hope to take part in community screenings of Ken Loach’s new film “Sorry We Missed You”. The film portrays a family working in the ‘gig’ economy with all its attendant problems – zero hours contracts, barely any sick or holiday pay, bogus ‘self-employment’. The ‘gig ‘economy employs at present 4.7 million people (Oct 2019 TUC statistics).

Ken Loach describes people working in this way as “labour you can turn on an off, like a tap” with all the risks and insecurities that it brings.

We will let you know when as these screenings become available in your area.

And finally and as always, but especially at this time of year:

To our funders and supporters individuals, local councils and charitable organisations, our thanks for their support and good wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

If you wish to make a donation to our cause please call into either of our offices, telephone – 01379 642291 or send a cheque to Shelfanger Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4EH

Visit our website on www.cadat.org.uk

We offer telephone advice on 0344 411 1444, and e-mail advice on advice@disscab.cabnet.org.uk and we can also arrange to Skype with you.

Social Media.

Diss, Thetford and District Citizens Advice is now live on Twitter!

If you are a Twitter user please follow us at @DissThetfordCA

We are using the platform to promote our service and to share relevant information with our followers. If anyone has any questions about it please contact, initially by email:

becky.chapman@cadat.org.uk

Our opening times

Diss office
Shelfanger Road, Diss, IP22 4EH
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 10.00 to 15.00

Thetford office
Abbey Neighbourhood Centre, Exeter Way, Thetford, IP24 1EE
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9.30 to 14.30

Harleston
Harleston Information Plus, 8 Exchange Street, Harleston, IP20 9AB
Wednesdays – 10.00 to 12.00

Loddon
Loddon Library, 31 Church Plain, Loddon, NR14 6EX
(by appointment only – ring 01508 520678)
Mondays – 10.00 to 12.00 (once a month)

Eye
Eye Health Centre, Castleton Way, Eye, IP23 7DD
(by appointment only)
Thursdays – 9.00 to 11.00