Agenda item

(Director of Communities) To receive a presentation by Epping Forest Citizens Advice Bureau, please see the attached report.

The Committee received a presentation from officers of the Epping Forest Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) outlining their value and impact on society especially in the Epping Forest District area. The CAB officers attending were Rachel Poulter, the District Manager and Rachel Kelly one of their Debt/Money Advisors.

The Committee noted that during 2015/16 the CAB service for Epping Forest had advised 2,761 clients on 8,061 issues. They had 9 part time staff and 52 volunteers working in 6 locations and were one of over 300 independent charities that made up the Citizens Advice network. Nationally, 2 in every 3 clients had their problems solved. And it was noted that they were now offering “web chat” in the Epping Forest area.

They worked with some of those most in need, some 38% of their clients were less likely to be in employment; 35% were likely to be in debt; 39% had a long term health problem or were disabled; and 26% were less likely to own their own homes.

They gave examples of some clients’ stories giving case history and eventual outcome. It was noted that 78% of their clients said that they would not have been able to resolve their problem without the CAB. They also had an impact on their clients’ health and wellbeing, most significantly around mental health. 4 in 5 clients felt less stressed, depressed or anxious following advice.

During April and September 2016 the two Debt Advisors had 253 client appointments assisting with 680 debt problems amounting to £734,000. General debt advice was given to a further 517 clients.

They played a vital role in ensuring people paid their priority bills first (such as rent, council tax and fuel payments).  Many of their clients also require and receive Benefits and or Housing Advice. They were also looking to do more work on budgeting in schools, giving pupils a good grounding in personal finance.

The CAB also offers advice on the welfare system such as benefits or tax credit problems, with 438 clients gaining a new award or an increase to their benefits worth an average of £6,200 per client. Maximising income helps clients by reducing their financial difficulties, promoted inclusion and benefited the economy, preventing the need for more critical and costly state intervention.

They also worked closely with the Council’s Homelessness Prevention Team. Their knowledge of legal rights and local processes was vital, especially in helping to formally or informally de-escalate situations where someone was in danger of losing their home.

The CAB also aimed to carry out research and campaigns in the privately rented sector and by listening carefully to people who go to them. Looking at their own data and gaining insights can spot emerging issues, polices and practices and regulation that were not delivering. They campaigned around issues affecting the local community and also come together nationally where they had a voice to really change things. One of their reports was around affordable rental properties and Ms Poulter had concluded that “this report confirms our advisers’ impression: it was extremely difficult for families to find affordable rental properties in the private rental sector in the Epping Forest District. If we do not want to see families on even moderate wages driven out of the area policymakers need to take this issue seriously and look for solutions”

The CAB work with volunteers, with all volunteers gaining at least one practical skill through volunteering, it also helped the unemployed volunteers overcome barriers to employment and helped them gain knowledge of local issues and made them feel more engaged with their community.

As a national network they were able to campaign on big issues such as pay day loans and on the latest scams and was able to have independent quality assurance of national standards, such as the Advice Quality Standard. Provision of good advice led to savings to local and national government, had wider economic and social benefits as well as providing benefits to the individual. They also provided value to the local authority, for example by reducing the cases of homelessness estimated to be about £114,573, and also to society in general whereby for every £1 invested in Citizens Advice Epping Forest District:

·         generated at least £2.94 in fiscal benefits savings to the government by reducing health service demand, local authority homelessness services;

·         provided £15.28 in public value with wider economic and social benefits such as improvements in participation and productivity for clients and volunteers; and

·         provided £18.50 in benefits to individuals giving income through benefits gained, debts written off and consumer problems resolved.

During 2016 they had relocated their Loughton branch to Loughton Library and their Epping branch to Hemnall Street. They implemented their on-line Frontline Referral System and continued with their “Web Chat” facility. In 2017 they hope to have an extra volunteer at Limes Farm, have an outreach facility at the Ongar Library and raise their profile generally using Social Media.

The meeting was then opened out for questions from the members present.

Councillor Brookes asked for a ‘ball park’ figure if possible for all cost to run CAB in the Epping Forest District. She was told it was that it was approximately £200,000 for everything during the year.

Councillor Brookes then asked how long did the volunteers stay. She was told that some stayed for 20 years and some for 10, but an average they liked them to stay for at least 5 years, which they usually did.

Councillor Surtees noted that they planned to go to Ongar and asked if there was any way Ongar Town Council could assist them and also how long did it take for a client to be seen after they first made contact. Ms Poulter replied that initial interviews usually lasted 15 to 20 minutes and if not solved there and then they would make an appointment for the following week (at most) unless the case was urgent. They were already in touch with the town council about moving to Ongar Library.

Councillor Knight asked, on behalf of Councillor Waller, if the CAB was able to extend its services throughout the district and was there any geographical issues for the use of the service. She was told that they had three locations where they were based and they would be extending out to Abridge and Ongar. Mr Hall, Director for Communities, said that Councillor Waller was in Sheering, people there would go to Harlow. Ms Poulter said there had been some issues about access but they had only 2 complaints this year so it was not a large problem.

Councillor Knight praised the services the CAB provided on such a tiny budget. Was there any where else they could look to for more funding? She was told that they had funding from the Lottery in the past and would reach out to them again in the future. There were also a lot of other, smaller grants available. Councillor Lea asked if they did any of their own, direct, fund raising. She was told that they did hold some events to raise money such as quiz nights and Barclays match funded these events. They hoped to hold more events in the future.

Councillor Murray proposed that they should ask some of the smaller Parish authorities for contributions. Ms Poulter replied that they have asked them and had received some contributions in the past.

Councillor Shiell asked about their telephone advice services and what kind of clients used that. She was told that they worked with Essex Advice Line a service available from Monday to Friday from 10 to 4pm. They dealt with a large spread of subject matters over the phone, mostly the same as their first contact interviews.

Councillor Stavrou, noting that Local Authorities were being financially squeezed by Central Government  asked what sort of percentage of their total income came from the District Council and from the Town and Parish Councils. She was told that it was around 75% but they were trying to diversify their sources of funding in the coming year.

Councillor Surtees noting the transport difficulties in the rural areas wondered if there were any people who were denied access to their services. Ms Poulter did not believe so, as they now could do home visits if needed, also they have their phone service which had been improved. She believed that no one was excluded. Councillor Mitchell asked if their home visit staff had been DBS checked; she was told that they were.

The Chairman thanked the officers from the Citizen Advice Bureau for their clear and interesting presentation