Advice and profile. At Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead we’re keen for everyone to know who we are and that we offer free advice locally. That’s why we write regular columns for two local magazines: the Challenger and Connection. In addition to offering advice on common problems, the articles help raise our profile. This is important because as a small independent charity we rely on dedicated local volunteers and community support in […]
IT and Debt Specialist’s Big Birthday David de Cintra, our District IT Coordinator and Debt Casework Specialist, reached a milestone this week and his colleagues marked the occasion. Never known to turn down an opportunity for cake and celebration, the team congratulated David in time-honoured way. And Sarah Mason’s amazing cake was primetime standard – all edible but the candles.
Opportunity to meet. Reigate & Banstead Council housing team held a valuable Homelessness Forum at the Town Hall on Wednesday 17 May. R&BBC Housing Services Manager Richard Robinson, hosting the event, said the aim was to ensure everyone with an interest in reducing housing insecurity was up to speed on developments. Main topics for discussion were: A Year in Housing at the Council […]
Helping with over £1m unsecured debt. Currently our trained advisers are helping clients manage unsecured debts of more than £1.1m. Average personal debt per client is £10,490. The main components are credit cards, unsecured loans and benefit overpayments. Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead saw 112 new clients facing significant problem debt in the year to March 2017. Growth in this kind of debt […]
Problems persist despite changes. Assessment for Personal Independence Payment is still causing financial and emotional distress. There have been efforts to try to make things easier. Last month the government announced improved transitional arrangements to give people more time to appeal against loss of Motability payment. Yet the number of requests for advice shows no sign of falling. In the […]
Volunteers’ fundraising success. M. Macron wasn’t the only big winner on Sunday 7 May. Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead and the local community also had reason to celebrate. Our volunteers team completed the Banstead Rotary Walk in fine style and raised over £800 for CAB funds. The whole community ‘won’ too. As an independent charity we depend on local grants and this kind of support to […]
NHS 111 – Healthwatch needs your feedback. HW News leads on a call for feedback on NHS 111 and out of hours GPs. See also their report on Safe Havens and news about the HW Helpdesk. Healthwatch April.
Sponsored event Sunday 7 May. Our volunteers are taking part in the Banstead Rotary Walk to raise funds for Citizens Advice Banstead*. With our help many people facing debt, housing, relationship and other problems take a first step towards peace of mind. Many more find our online advice an invaluable resource for everyday life. Will you support this free service by donating through our event team? You can join a growing […]
What a great day! Congratulations to Banstead May Queen Group on an excellent event yesterday in the heart of the community. And a special shout-out to all the schools for a fantastic display of dance and song. Proud parents everywhere! Our volunteers played a full and busy part, as the pictures show. People were keen to hear about our services on things like the cost of […]
We may surprise you. Many people think Citizens Advice is a public service paid for by the government. In fact we’re independent local charities that depend on grants – usually from councils – for basics such as premises and the salaries of small staff teams. But the grants are discretionary – in other words more like donations than normal public service funding. And with large cuts to their budgets, we know how hard it is […]