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Local bureau projects

At least 211 Citizens Advice Bureaux across England and Wales deliver a financial capability service. They work in the heart of their communities delivering financial skills training to groups or individuals. They cover practical topics from understanding bank statements to getting the best credit deal. They nearly all work with local partner organisations, building on their community links and trust gained as an independent provider of money advice.

What all these bureaux have in common is first-hand experience of the financial issues people have to grapple with. They have a real commitment to delivering engaging initiatives that help people take control and avoid financial crisis.

Bureaux use a wide range of training models and methods. They work with groups as diverse as prisoners, adults with learning disabilities and ex-military personnel. Many bureaux also complement their training through activities like offering top money tips on the radio or advice columns in their local paper.

Some bureaux have funding and full-time financial skills trainers. They deliver programmes that reach thousands of people each year. Other bureaux make a difference by finding the time to provide local school children with a termly talk on a current money issue.  

The examples of local bureau projects below will give you a sense of the breadth of the work bureaux are delivering up and down the country.

Full summary of bureaux projects

Bracknell CAB – reaching employees

Bracknell Citizens Advice Bureau started delivering financial capability back in 2003 through a pilot project funded by Prudential working in partnership with Citizens Advice.

Since that time the bureau has delivered a wide range of innovative programmes to local groups and individuals, including homeless people, older people, mental health service users, adults with learning disabilities and school pupils. Courses have been tailored to learners’ needs, but have included topics such as the right to cancel credit agreements and getting started with saving.

Thanks to the Big Lottery Fund they have funding from 2007 for five years for a dedicated part-time financial skills worker. She researches, plans and evaluates programmes for a wide range of audiences, including sessions delivered to employees of Bracknell Forest Council. The Council sees the sessions as a way to add to the other services it offers to its staff as a responsible employer. Council staff improve their strategies to avoid financial crisis by finding out more about managing debt and financial planning.

Caerphilly CAB – raising public awareness of energy best deals

Caerphilly Citizens Advice Bureau secured £1,000 from their local financial capability forum to improve local awareness of energy best deals and the help available for people struggling to pay their bills. The project was particularly aimed at people on low incomes using pre-payment meters.

The bureau delivered four group training sessions during February and March 2009 as part of the Energy Best Deal campaign.  Energy Best Deal is supported by the energy regulator OFGEM and funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The bureau made use of off-the-shelf training materials developed by OFGEM and Citizens Advice. These included materials for a 45-minute presentation and information designed for consumers and other organisations. Participants included staff from a local Womens’ Aid project and Mental Health Centre. They also included users of the Centre and adult learners from Ystrad Mynach College.

Leaflets included 'Keep Warm Well' information and signposting to a range of further help with issues like fuel debt, benefits and energy efficiency.

Chesterfield CAB – delivering financial capability through one-to-ones and radio work

Chesterfield Citizens Advice Bureau has received funding from the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) since 2005 to develop and deliver one to one financial capability services to people living within socially deprived wards in Chesterfield. Their work promotes money skills and financial inclusion among a range of audiences such as lone parents, people on low incomes, people who are sick or disabled and people who are long-term unemployed.

During the first stage of the project the bureau mainly provided one to ones by appointment at the bureau. It exceeded initial targets and improved clients’ ability to budget and to access basic bank accounts and cheaper utilities. It also helped people access credit union services and make informed decisions around saving and borrowing.

The BLF is now supporting the bureau to work until 2012 with a range of hard-to-reach groups. The bureau now delivers one to one sessions in a range of outreach settings and regularly takes referrals from other community organisations. It has found that it is especially effective to reach people when they are going through life changes.

As well as delivering one to ones, the bureau has also helped give a voice to the BBC’s national financial capability 'Raw Money' campaign. The project worker was a panel member during two live one-hour phone-ins on the breakfast show of BBC Radio Sheffield. They responded to listeners’ money problems and provided tips and advice. The BBC provided Coronation Street actors to stage a drama before the phone-in to engage listeners. They also provided post phone-in magazine and website backup.

Exeter CAB – developing volunteers to deliver financial capability

Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau received funding from the Nationwide MoneyActive project to develop financial capability volunteering within the bureau.

They have recruited a team of volunteers to deliver financial capability sessions. The volunteers are supported by paid staff within the bureau who are making sure the project is integrated into the existing money advice service and wider bureau work. The volunteers are taking on different roles according to their experience, skills and preferences – some will be financial capability trainers, some course assistants, some will focus on promoting the service and others will provide administrative support.

The project started with some research among local community groups to find out more about their financial capability needs and make sure the bureau developed training sessions suitable for them. The volunteers will be delivering a mix of group sessions to frontline workers and local service users and one-to-one coaching to build financial skills.

Forest of Dean CAB – helping older people be savvy about tax

Forest of Dean Citizens Advice Bureau ran a project to help older people better understand a range of tax issues to help them plan their financial futures and make informed choices.

The bureau used funding from HM Revenue & Customs administered as a small (£4,000) grant through Citizens Advice. It delivered one-day training courses across a large rural area between October 2008 and March 2009.

Using materials developed by Citizens Advice as part of the project, the bureau targeted a wide range of organisations that work with older people. These included Age Concern, Macmillan Cancer Support, Newent Association for the Disabled and Gloucestershire Chinese Association.

They covered topics such as the tax pros and cons of working past retirement, the basics of inheritance tax and how to check your tax code.

The organisations that participated estimated they would be able to better support at least 640 older people as a result of the training.  

Kennet CAB – using bureau volunteers to engage teens in the classroom

With a team of trainers composed entirely of volunteers, Kennet Citizens Advice Bureau engaged with all of the Year 9 pupils (13-14 year olds) at a local school.

Through an intensive six-week rolling programme, the bureau delivered sessions to different classes using quizzes and other tools to engage the students. The quizzes drew on national statistics like how much people spend on texting to provoke debate over the pupils’ own financial priorities. They also covered issues such as the role students play in their family’s finances, looking at the costs of food, water and other utility bills.

The bureau works closely with teaching staff to deliver the programme.

Kirklees CAB – working with the parents of young children

Kirklees Citizens Advice is running a project working with families with young children. The funding is provided by Kirklees Early Years Service and will run until March 2011.

The project offers advice to families through outreach services and a dedicated telephone line. Referrals are also made to the service by family support team staff, health visitors, midwives and staff at the Surestart children’s centres.

The Project Manager also delivers training sessions to parents with young children on budgeting, credit and bills, income maximisation, basic banking and debt awareness. The sessions are usually delivered within the Surestart Childrens Centres but other venues and services have been used.

Free training, information and support is also provided to a range of front-line practitioners working with local parents - such as Children's Centre staff and volunteers from local support agencies.

Powys CAB – improving the confidence of women at a local refuge

Since 2003, Powys Citizens Advice Bureau has worked with the local women’s refuge, delivering group sessions to women who have experienced domestic violence. Some of the women in the refuge have had little experience of managing bills and money, as their ex-partner exercised complete control over family income. The bureau has found that opening bank accounts can be a particular problem for the women living in the refuge as it can be hard to show usual evidence for proof of address and ID.

The bureau delivers group sessions that aim to build confidence in managing money, confidence in opening and using bank accounts, and knowledge about the best options available for saving and borrowing.

Toxteth CAB – reaching lone parents

Toxteth Citizens Advice Bureau secured a major grant of nearly £100,000 over three years through the Barclaycard-supported Horizons ‘Your Money’ project. The project brings together three charities - Citizens Advice, Family Action and Gingerbread. They are working together to help lone parents make the most of their family lives by making the transition out of poverty, debt and isolation.

Through its Horizons project the bureau has a dedicated Financial Capability Worker. They deliver group training sessions to lone parents and organisations that work with lone parents on topics such as the Child Trust Fund and understanding credit. They have delivered sessions to womens’ organisations, the local Somali community and people who are long-term unemployed.

The bureau also offers tailored one-to-one follow-up support to participating parents. This can include helping them to access benefits, understand their banking rights and prioritise their bills. The bureau can also help parents to manage the financial aspect of major life transitions like budgeting as a result of a major bereavement. Where it’s clear a client needs to access detailed advice they are referred to a specialist.