There is more to advice work than simply answering enquiries. The experience
of Central and Local Government policies and services brought to us by our
enquirers provides us with a huge body of evidence on how their services impact
on the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
We feed this evidence back to the organisations’ responsible, to change policies.
We do this nationally by contacting Government Departments or M.Ps, or by contributing
to National Social Policy Initiatives co-ordinated by Citizen Advice.
At a local level we will contact local service providers and raise issues with them
directly.
This addresses the root causes of many problems affecting our enquirers, and affects
the many thousands of people who do not seek advice by preventing future problems.
This year we have:
- Raised issues around the Tax Credit system both via Citizens Advice and directly with M.Ps
- Worked closely with the City Council’s Homeless Section to improve the quality of their services
- Liaised with the Police and Trading Standards to curb the activities of a rogue creditor
- Briefed M.P’s and elected representatives on the proposed changes to Incapacity Benefit
- Worked with local bailiffs firms to improve their practices
- Raised a range of issues affecting Refugees and People Seeking Asylum
- Raised issues with the DWP about the experience having enquirers interviewed under caution during fraud investigations
- Raised issues of overpayment recovery rates with Housing Benefit
