Citizens Advice service gets major new funding to provide more debt help

06-04-2006

Tens of thousands more people will be able to get free, independent help with debt problems from the national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux thanks to major new funding announced today.

Problem-solving charity Citizens Advice has been awarded a total of £33 million over two years to provide more face-to-face debt advice. Some of the funding is for joint bids with advice sector partner Advice UK. The cash comes from the Government’s £45 million Financial Inclusion Fund.

The extra money will make it possible to recruit and train an additional 370 full-time specialist debt advisers.  This will mean around 100,000 more people on very low incomes and facing serious debt problems can be helped through in-depth casework.  Nearly 200 bureaux across England and Wales will be involved, many of them working in partnership with other free, independent advice providers such as Advice UK.

The Citizens Advice Service is already the largest provider of free, independent debt advice in the UK.  The bureau network in England and Wales dealt with 1.25 million new debt problems in 2004/05 and the number of consumer debt problems seen by bureaux has almost doubled since 1997.

Research has shown that CAB debt clients are generally much poorer than the population at large, with a monthly household income less than half that of the UK average. The amount they owe averages more than 17 times their monthly income.  

Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:

“Day in, day out, our advisers see evidence of how personal debt problems are overwhelming large numbers of people, with potentially devastating personal and social consequences, including a hugely detrimental impact on people’s health, homes, family life and ability to work.

“That’s why we are absolutely thrilled by this news, which represents a real vote of confidence in the debt advice already done by the Citizens Advice Bureau network. It means that a new generation of debt advisers will be able to help tens of thousands more people overcome serious debt problems. We are especially pleased that the Citizens Advice service will be a leading partner in helping the Government deliver its objectives on financial inclusion. This is a big challenge, but we believe we are ready and able to meet it.”

Three years ago Citizens Advice warned that a significant section of the UK population was grappling with unmanageable debt, according to research it published in May 2003 based on survey findings and an analysis of over 8,000 CAB case studies. In too deep: CAB clients’ experience of debt also warned at the time that the need for free, independent, face-to-face debt advice far exceeded supply, and was likely to grow far more acute.

For more information contact: press.office@citizensadvice.org.uk

Notes to editors on Citizens Advice

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
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. Advice and information www.adviceguide.org.uk
5. Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
6. 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
7. Follow Citizens Advice on Twitter: twitter.com/CitizensAdvice
8. Subscribe to Citizens Advice press releases via RSS news feed: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/pressoffice