Significant achievements and Partnerships for Citizens Advice

‘Working Together’ is the theme for this year’s Annual Report and the past year has seen some very productive partnerships for Citizens Advice.

These partnerships include working with:

• the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Industry,
• the Social Security Agency,
• the Money Advice Trust,
• Advice NI,
• Citizens Information Board,
• Macmillan Cancer Support and
• the Financial Services Authority.

Advice and Information strategy

This year has also seen the launch of the Advice and Information Strategy meaning a further £3million has been made available to frontline advice agencies through the Department for Social Development and local District Councils.

The strategy means that more resources will be invested into advice ‘hubs’ in return for the consolidation of the advice sector, all against a background of changes to District Councils.

In the last 15 years, Citizens Advice in Northern Ireland has shown itself very willing to change and set new standards. Our innovation in IT remain a first in the UK advice sector, our external accreditation of training is now standard practice, the development of financial literacy materials for schools, ground breaking in 2003, is now being mainstreamed by UK Government in England and Wales and the political developments now provide a positive backdrop to our development of cross border advice.

Significant engagement with government

Speaking at the launch of CAB’s Annual Report, Chief Executive Derek Alcorn said,

A year of record achievement

The Citizens Advice Annual Report records a year of record achievement for the organisation, including:

• Secured three contracts to deliver benefit take-up services for vulnerable customers of Northern Ireland Electricity. The initiative called ‘For Your Benefit Programme’ focused on assessing how a range of interventions might assist customers maximise their benefit entitlement.
• New partnership between Citizens Advice and Macmillan Cancer Support created with the purpose of providing an advice and information service for patients with cancer and their families at three hospitals with the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust.
• Borderwise Project received a further £250,000 from the Peace II Extension Programme. This funding will enable the project to provide a support & training programme of ‘Cross Border Advice, Information and Advocacy’ for staff and volunteers in border counties.
• Awarded a further 3 contracts for the benefit take-up initiative by the Social Security Agency.
• Citizens Advice continues to be the largest single source of help for appellants at social security appeal tribunals in Northern Ireland. Statistics continue to show that unrepresented clients have a 1 in 5 chance of success compared to a 1 in 2 chance for those with representation.