Policy research publications
Citizens Advice regularly publishes policy research on issues affecting clients of our service. We use this evidence to campaign for changes in policies and services.
Welfare
Welfare and benefits forms the largest area of advice we deliver giving us some of the clearest insights into the way in which the system works and the challenges it poses.
Consumer
We all now have to behave as consumers in an increasing number of markets. Our consumer policy work looks at how people are treated in everything from telecoms and financial services, to housing and online marketplaces.
Debt and money
- Open letter to the Chancellor on Buy Now Pay Later regulation
- Priced out of debt relief: How upfront insolvency fees keep people stuck in debt purgatory
- Bailiffs behaving badly: stories from the frontline
- Set up to fail: How the broken IVA market is failing people in debt distress
- Evening the Odds
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Work
Our work policy research covers both employment and self-employment. It looks at the increasing diversity of working arrangements and how this is affecting pay, work-life balance and redress when things go wrong.
Pensions
Our pensions policy work explores how people understand pensions and what can be done to help consumers make positive pension choices while also protecting them from potential risks.
Energy
We are the official consumer body for energy. We use research and evidence from the people who contact our advice service every day to understand the problems facing energy consumers in Great Britain. We help solve these problems by engaging with industry, changing policy and supporting consumers to navigate the market.
Post
As the statutory consumer body for postal consumers in England and Wales, we commission research, build evidence-based policy positions to embed the needs of postal consumers into decision-making, with specific regard for the needs of vulnerable consumers.
Water
- Citizens Advice Response to CCW's Forward Work Programme 2022-23
- Citizens Advice response to Ofwat’s consultation: PR24 and beyond
- Citizens Advice response to CCW’s Strategy 2021-24
- Citizens Advice Response to CMA Consultation on Provisional Findings by PR19 - Cost of Capital Working Papers
- Citizens Advice submission to the Ofwat review: ‘PR24 and beyond: Future challenges and opportunities for the water sector’
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Justice
Through Citizens Advice and the Witness Service, we support hundreds of thousands of people pursuing justice or going to court as a victim or a witness.
Housing
- An end to unfair evictions?
- “As a renter, you never truly feel at home”: Tenants Voice submission to the Renters Reform Bill
- A building crisis: The impact of cost of living pressures on private renters
- One renter every minute: How the pandemic exacerbated existing problems and what that means for the Renters Reform Bill
- New year, same arrears: How the pandemic is leaving private renters with unmanageable debt
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Public services
We help thousands of people with public service issues every year. This means we have a really detailed understanding of public services and how they can best support their users.
Wales
- On the brink | Ar y Dibyn
- Left in the cold: how to protect private renters in Wales from cold, damp homes | Diodde’r oerfel: sut i amddiffyn rhentwyr preifat yng Nghymru rhag cartrefi oer a llaith
- Kept in the dark (Wales) | Adroddiad Kept in the dark (Cymru)
- Grinding to a halt? Removing the roadblocks to increased energy efficiency and decarbonisation of private housing in Wales
- Wales: Cost of living briefing July 2022 | Cymru: Papur briffio costau byw Gorffennaf 2022
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Data trends
At Citizens Advice, we see millions of people with many different kinds of problems. This gives us a unique insight into the challenges people are facing today and the impact of coronavirus on their lives. We’ve pulled together data from across our website and local advice services to understand people’s concerns during this crisis.