CitizensAdvice.co.uk is an advice and information charity in Northern Ireland
Title
Citizens Advice CitizensAdvice Bureau
Description
Citizens Advice is the largest advice charity in Northern Ireland working against poverty, and meeting the information and advice needs of some 200,000 people per year. The Association has formal links to CAB in England & Wales and close working relationships with Citizens Advice Scotland. Together the three Associations constitute the biggest advice network in Europe with 60 years of giving advice and information to the public.
The Association has funding relationships with 24 of N. Ireland’s District Councils, and in the 12 months to March 2003 had a turnover of some £3m, of which the Citizens Advice Regional Office accounted for £700,000.
53 per cent of CAB enquiries relate to social security of which Disability Benefits and Income Support are the largest categories. Queries to CAB have more than doubled in the last 10 years. In particular the trend to self assessment in benefits and the introduction of complex self assessment forms in respect of Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Job Seekers Allowance has, along with New Labour’s policy of means testing access to benefit, greatly increased the demand for Cab’s advice network. With the Welfare Reform Programme, and cross party support for means testing and the targeting of benefits, these trends are clearly set to continue.
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