About Us
What type of enquiries do we deal with ?
In 2018 – 2019 we dealt with 4,347 issues from 3,975 new clients, and advised clients to claim £1,194,354 of Benefits, and supported clients with £1,316,339 of Debts.
In 2019 – 2020 we had 5062 new enquiries generating 6,157 new issues, advised clients to claim £1,808,494 of Benefits and supported clients with £1,926,328 of Debts.
- Debt– we provide a comprehensive money advice service
- Employment– Advice on employment rights and enabling clients to exercise those rights
- Consumer– Advising clients on their rights of redress against shops and traders, providing goods and services
- Benefits– Benefit calculations, completing claims and helping with appeals
- Housing– Problems include repossession, establishing the rights of tenants and landlords, homelessness
- Plus many other issues
How many people do you have ?
We have a volunteer team of over 30 people plus one fulltime and ten part-time staff:
See our Volunteer Page for more information about what our volunteers do and how you can join them.
How are you managed ?
We are a Registered Charity and a private company limited by guarantee. We are managed by a volunteer Trustee Board, some of whom are also Directors of the Company, made up of local people, local councilors and representatives from business.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer Trustee please see our Volunteer Page.
We are members of the national Citizens Advice organisation who set strict standards for the running of the service and regularly audit the quality of our advice and the overall management of the service.
We also hold the Advice Quality Standard for General Help and Casework in Welfare Benefits (previously the Community Legal Service Quality Mark). Our debt advice work is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
How are you funded ?
Although we are mainly staffed by volunteers we still need money to run the local service. We receive no money from central government but do receive grants from local government.
However this does not cover our total outgoings and we need to raise additional funds to maintain the service.
We are a registered charity and are dependent on donations from the local community. Our Support Us page explains how you can help.
