Case study: ‘We will help anyone who comes to us, but it doesn’t come cheap’

Citizens Advice Scotland is one of Scotland’s leading charity organisations and the national umbrella organisation for the network of citizens advice bureaux (CAB).

It also collates client case evidence to shape policy in Scotland and the UK, and has recorded a marked increase in its workload over the past year.

Each citizens advice bureau is an independent, registered charity, responsible for securing the funding necessary to deliver its service.

In 2009-10 Scottish CABs collectively dealt with more than 545,000 new cases. In 2010-11 the figure was more than 560,000, which marks an increase of 2.7 per cent.

The two main areas where there have been increases are debt cases and benefit cases.

Citizen Advice Scotland head of policy Susan McPhee said: “We have gathered information from all 81 CAB offices in Scotland for 2010-11, and from the calculations we’ve already made there is no doubt that CAB workload is increasing considerably.

“And these numbers only tell part of the story. Much of the increase in caseload is related to the welfare reforms and changes to the benefits system, and such cases are often very complex and time-consuming. ESA [employment and support allowance] cases for example have increased very substantially, and these can take up weeks or even months of a CAB advisers’ time.

“And all this is happening as resources are being squeezed drastically in many areas. So bureaux are more stretched than ever – just as the people in our communities need us most.

“Every CAB is dedicated to delivering a first-rate service to its local community. People rely on that service. In many cases the CAB is all they have.

“The expert advice we offer nationvwide is free, confidential and completely impartial, and this makes the CAB a unique service. We will continue to help anyone who comes to us, but that type of quality doesn’t come cheap, and there is no doubt that the pressure on our advisers is considerable at the moment, and we need all the help we can get.

“Every CAB is constantly looking to increase funding, and also to recruit volunteers, so if anyone is interested in helping there has never been a better time to contact us.”

Citizens advice bureaux offer free, confidential, impartial and independent advice on a limitless range of subjects, as well as conducting regular, independent research to find out what current service-users and those who have not used a CAB think about bureaux.

They work with a range of partner organisations, including the NHS across Scotland, to deliver advice, and provide IASS, an independent support service for patients who are seeking to raise health-related issues with their NHS board.