Armed Forces personnel better off by nearly £20 million – thanks to Forces Charities’ Free Benefits and Money Advice Service

Two years after its launch in December 2007, the Benefits and Money Advice Service, funded by The Royal British Legion (TRBL) and the RAF Benevolent Fund (RAFBF), is proving enormously successful in helping serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families deal with financial problems. There are currently 42 Benefits and Money Advisers at Citizens Advice Bureaux across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with an additional seven in-house TRBL advisers based at its headquarters and regional offices.

A finalist in the Third Sector Excellence Awards, the scheme has helped over 8,100 people and addressed more than 37,000 problems. To date, clients are better off by a total of £19.2 million pounds, with this figure expected to grow significantly as more cases are resolved.

Under the scheme, specially trained Benefits and Money Advice caseworkers provide a holistic service offering bespoke advice on a range of welfare benefits and money advice issues. Their advice has enabled clients to reduce their debts, apply for grants and access previously unclaimed benefits.

Since the launch of the initiative in December 2007, and the ensuing economic downturn, financial pressure on Forces’ and veteran’s communities has increased dramatically, and demand for the service has been extremely high. As a result, the two charities have committed additional funding to increase the number of Benefits and Money Advice caseworkers from 18 to more than 40, during this two year period.

The need for a dedicated service was identified after a 2005 survey conducted by The Royal British Legion found that one in five of those accessing its support services cited debt as a prevalent difficulty in their lives.

Chris Simpkins, Director General of The Royal British Legion, said:

“Given the financial difficulties many people across the UK are currently experiencing, it’s more important than ever that holistic services, such as this, exist for the serving and ex-Service community.The collaboration between The Royal British Legion, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and Citizens Advice continues to go from strength to strength and is an excellent example of what can be achieved when charities work together for the benefit of those in need. The Legion ishappy to be the major funding resource for the project and iscommitted to providing further funding in order to roll out the service across more counties throughout 2010.”

Sir Rob Wright, Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund, said:

“It’s immensely gratifying to see how many people the Benefits and Money Advice caseworkers have helped in such a short period of time, especially at a time when the economic downturn is only adding to the pressures on veterans and serving families. We look forward to the continued growth of the scheme, both in terms of the numbers of caseworkers we are able to fund, and also by increasing the numbers of participating bureaux, so that we can improve accessibility wherever possible.”

To find out more about the Benefits and Money Advice service, contact Legionline at The Royal British Legion on 08457 725 725 or visit www.rafbf.org/cab.

Notes to editors:

1. The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers.
   For more information in England and Wales www.citizensadvice.org.uk
   For more information and 2008/9 service statistics see Introduction to the service
   For 2008/9 service highlights see the Citizens Advice service impact report
   For 2008/9 social policy campaigning highlights see the Citizens Advice social policy impact report
2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
3. Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at over 3,300 locations across England and Wales.
4. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2 million clients on 6 million problems from April 2008 to March 2009
5. Advice and information www.adviceguide.org.uk
6. Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
7. Citizens Advice Guide to your rights, second edition: January 2008 - over 600 pages of practical, independent CAB advice. An invaluable resource for any bookshelf - available from all good bookshops; price £11.99; ISBN: 9780141034089
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