Link-up with Raven Housing is great success. Citizens Advice and Raven Housing Trust jointly organised a free benefit check day at Citizens Advice Redhill on Friday 10 November. The drop-in, no-appointment session was very popular. So much so that plans are already being made for a repeat in 6 months time. Elaine Parr, Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead District Manager, said: […]
How we helped, April to September. In the first half of 2017-18 our trained advisers helped fellow citizens tackle more than 5000 different problems. The chart below shows the most frequently raised categories. Among the most problematic Benefit issues were Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Personal Independence Payments. Biggest Debt issues linked to housing: rent arrears and unpaid council tax. Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead offers free support to local […]
‘A disaster waiting to happen.‘ That’s the conclusion of new analysis of over 50,000 cases where Citizens Advice helped people with debt problems. The unhappy truth is that UC is actually pushing people further into debt. Citizens Advice research with UC clients and a survey of advisers shows the main issues causing or making worse claimants’ debt problems: the […]
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 […]
HMRC withdraws demand. A client with mental health problems will not have to pay back more than £2400 in overpaid tax credits received during tax year 2015-16. HMRC made its decision last month following the direct involvement of Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead on her behalf. The debt came about after a change in income […]
Benefits dominate year to date. The withdrawal of a Surrey County Council support scheme is a key reason why benefit enquiries to Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead have risen significantly. Meanwhile latest information about the source of applications for Surrey’s Local Assistance Scheme showed R&B once again at the top.
Conservative Councillors hear of growing advice need. In the past year we have seen a marked increase in clients asking Citizens Advice for advice on welfare benefits and how to appeal against earlier decisions. This was up for discussion when our District Manager, Elaine Parr, attended the borough Conservative Committee chaired by Cllr Julian Ellacott on 9 January. Main cause of the rise is loss of Surrey County Council Getwise Funding. The scheme offered residents […]
Concentrix – mounting problems led to contract termination. HMRC dropped its contract with the American-owned business services company Concentrix when a catalogue of delays, mistakes and IT failures became a clear threat to its customer service standards. A report from the National Audit Office today details the purpose of the contract, the cost and repeated attempts to deal with difficulties (including raising payments to the contractor) and […]
Homeless on the national stage. A new play, Love by Alexander Zeldin, finished its National Theatre run this week*. The stage is the living area of a hostel for the homeless shared by 4 families. Just before Christmas. Chairs, table, sink, fridge, hob. Cold light, peeling paint. 5 doors off….from audience’s left to right: Door 1 Shared bathroom. Door 2 Barbara, late […]