It’s September 1939 and war has been declared – a time of anxiety and uncertainty for all. Doreen and Margaret, neighbours in East London, are waiting outside a terrace house on the corner of their street. This is the doctor’s surgery and his front parlour now serves as a local advice centre, an initiative just […]
Surrey Citizens Advice calls for urgent review. Press Release 16 May 2019 The lives and health of people in Surrey with long-term disabling conditions such as autoimmune disorder and painful degenerative conditions are being made worse by a failing benefit process. Long delays in the process of applying for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) now routinely […]
Not sure who to turn to? … Citizens Advice offer free, confidential information on a range of topics from debt and benefits to immigration and housing. But did you know that we can also put you in touch with other specialist agencies who may be able to give you the particular help you need? Take […]
The aim of food banks is to support local families in crisis who don’t have enough money to buy food. They are given enough food to feed their family (or themselves if they are single) for approximately 3 days. The reasons why people need to visit food banks include benefit changes and delays, debt problems, […]
Don’t know how to apply for Universal Credit to help with your living and housing costs? Citizens Advice can help you with your initial online claim. Alex* contacted Citizens Advice in distress because she didn’t know how to start making a claim for Universal Credit (UC) and was worried that she wouldn’t be able to […]
Universal Credit (UC) was introduced in 2013 as a single benefit to replace 6 existing Benefits – child tax credit, housing benefit, income support, income-based job seeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and working tax credit. You could be eligible for UC if you are between 18 and state pension age, are on a […]
Winter can be cold and dark. Are you having difficulty affording to heat your home this winter? At Citizens Advice we often see clients who do. Sometimes people can’t pay their gas and electricity bills and they get into arrears. If these arrears are not paid, the energy supplier may pass the debt on to […]
HAPPY NEW YEAR! New Year is traditionally a time to take stock of our lives and consider whether we need to make any changes. The festive season can be a happy time, or it can be stressful and tensions in relationships can come to a head, making us wonder if we should make a break. […]
Halloween has come and gone for another year, which means that Christmas is just around the corner. Traditionally this means many of us will spend more than we can afford and eat and drink more than is good for us. The stresses we impose upon ourselves at this time of year (including worrying about increased […]
Our offices have some paid staff, but most are volunteers. They come from all walks of life. They use their talents, experience and training (which is constantly updated) to help their community with free, confidential, independent and impartial advice. Here is a flavour of what a volunteer adviser might experience on a typical day: The […]