Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

[Latch Key Kid]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

And TODAY (ORder Books for Thursday Order Book Part 2)
Notices given on Tuesday 25 January
30
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the end of the Financial Inclusion Fund on the number of centres in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands providing debt advice. (36839)

31
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Citizens Advice Bureau on the ending of the Financial Inclusion Fund; and if he will make a statement. (36840)

32
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many debt advisors have been funded through the Financial Inclusion Fund in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) each borough in the West Midlands in each of the last five years. (36841) 33
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have received debt advice funded through the Financial Inclusion Fund in each of the last five years. (36934)

42
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. member for West Worcestershire of 19 January 2011, Official Report, column 836W, on the Financial Inclusion Fund, what funding he plans to make available after the closure of the Financial Inclusion Fund to ensure that financial exclusion continues to be tackled. (36798)

So eyes out for the answer to that one later then More questions than answers I suspect.

Hi

Ian Austins questions (especially the last one) look interesting to me taking into account the answers to a couple of letters previously highlighted on here.

Hope they eventually do the right thing (and soon) as there are already signs around the agencies of a collapse in advice provision - We are not just talking about CAB's and debt advice provision either the whole infrastructure is now looking at risk and threat of referrals to nowhere very real.

We are seriously looking at an almighty expensive debacle and dangerous mess here with no safety net - make no mistake about that.

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

One answered (to a point)


Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab): Will the Leader of the House arrange a statement on the replacement for the financial inclusion fund, which funds independent advice agencies to give debt advice, and which we have learned will close at the end of March? That means that the local citizens advice bureau in my borough of Trafford will be forced to reduce the number of cases that it can handle by 500. Please can we urgently be told what Ministers intend to do to ensure that good quality debt advice can be continued?


Sir George Young: The hon. Lady is quite right that the Government have decided that the fund to which she refers will be wound up. We are in the process of developing a free, national finance advice service, and I should like to write to her, or to ask the Minister responsible to do so, with further details of that service.

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

''We are in the process of developing a free, national finance advice service''

why so secretive about it ? Consumer Protection Agency ? social responsibility levy ? run/funded by industry ? are CAB involved ?

Government to introduce free financial advice paid for by the industry | News | Money Marketing

[Nibbler]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

I honestly doubt it will help much, but all the same.........................

Response on an MSE thread on behalf of Martin Lewis.

Hi all

I've been meaning to drop you all a quick note all week, sorry for the delay.

Thanks for sending Martin a link to the thread, he’s asked me to send a quick reply to say how annoyed we are that the FIF money (amongst others) is not being renewed for debt advisors around the UK. Martin has mentioned a few times in his speeches (eg the political party conferences and treasury select sessions last year) that CAB’s budget is being slashed and if anyone has a breakdown on what this will be nationally it’d be great if you could PM it to me.

For those seeking debt advice of course the CCCS and National Debtline are still available and hopefully all CABs find a way to carry on running via other funds and their excellent volunteers. Martin was also due to meet Consumers Minister Ed Davey this week but it was postponed, although he will be sure to raise the subject with him (as one of many topics he wants to discuss) when the new meeting is arranged, so any send me any useful quick stats that you think we should pass on.

Thanks guys,

Wendy

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

why so secretive about it ?

Because they are making things up as they go along in a blind panic? :rolleyes2:

[Latch Key Kid]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Hi Nibbler

"Because they are making things up as they go along in a blind panic? :rolleyes2: "

Think that may be an understatement.

[Nibbler]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Indeed!

[Latch Key Kid]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Hi

Maybe they are also looking again at their definition of the 'Big Society'

'Absolute Chaos' could be just around the corner here me thinks.

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

I havent worked out if these are linked - BBA: New debt advice model would improve support for people in financial difficulties - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

creation of a single body to regulate debt advice, with a single debt management license and sole responsibility for delivering a national over-indebtedness strategy;

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Yesterdays answers
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 27 Jan 2011 (pt 0004)

Financial Inclusion Fund

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many debt advisers have been funded through the Financial Inclusion Fund in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) each borough in the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [36841]
Mr Davey: There are around 500 debt advisers funded via the Financial Inclusion Fund's Face-to-Face (F2F) Debt Advice project, of which around 60 F2F debt advisers were employed in the West Midlands area. The funds which we provided aimed to maintain this level of advice support over the five years.
The number of debt advisers covering the West Midlands by area is as follows:
Area Number Birmingham
11
Coventry
4
Dudley
3
Herefordshire
1
Sandwell
5
Shropshire
1.5
Solihull
1
Staffordshire
6.5
Stoke-on-Trent
6
Telford
2
Walsall
4
Warwickshire
4
Wolverhampton
6.5
Worcestershire
7
Total
62.5

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of people who have received debt advice funded through the Financial Inclusion Fund in each of the last five years. [36934]
Mr Davey: In each of the last five years, the number of individuals receiving debt advice from the Face-to-Face Debt Advice project funded via the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) is as follows.

27 Jan 2011 : Column 488W
Financial years Number 2006/07
26,567
2007/08
92,635
2008/09
100,968
2009/10
105,155
2010 to 30 September
53,679
Total
379,004

The Debt Advice in Prisons project run by the Legal Service Commission is also funded from FIF, but this Department does not have total figures for the number of clients advised under that project.

Cant see anything for the other two questions (the important ones) yet.

30
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the end of the Financial Inclusion Fund on the number of centres in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands providing debt advice. (36839)

31
Ian Austin (Dudley North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Citizens Advice Bureau on the ending of the Financial Inclusion Fund; and if he will make a statement. (36840)

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Ahhh
Written answers and statements, 17 January 2011

Mark Hoban (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Fareham, Conservative)
The Government have asked the Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB) to deliver a free and impartial national financial advice service that will be available to everyone in the UK online, over the phone and face-to-face, by spring 2011. This will increase levels of financial literacy and empower people to take charge of their finances.
CFEB invited bids to deliver the service last year. Post Office Ltd decided not to compete for the contract as they did not have the capacity to provide the advice required.

Consumer Financial Education Body Page 9 of http://www.cfebuk.org.uk/pdfs/CFEB_Business_Plan.pdf
also of interest http://www.cfebuk.org.uk/pdfs/consum...20evidence.pdf
So have CAB bid to deliver that service ? The link up with cccs and their onward plan for 5000 new volunteers and the consumer direct indications of switching to cab would indicate so.

IF so why are they letting so many staff face redundancy now when they will be needed to take this on ? That bit doesn't make sense.

[Latch Key Kid]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Hi Amethyst

Clandestine stuff maybe.

Grossly unfair to the caseworkers under notice and their agencies though, not to mention those in debt who currently cannot access advice.

The emphasis has been on Financial Capability for a while now which is fair enough but as any experienced adviser will tell you, there are also hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions who are in need of debt advice now.

Lets hope they can get the mix right and something good can eventually be salvaged from all this.

Dont hold your breath though.

[Amethyst]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Briminghams losing 5 CAB bureaux... Birmingham's Labour leader calls for coalition to resign over CAB closures - Top Stories - News - Birmingham Mail and South Derbyshire Burton News & Staffordshire Newspaper | Burton On Trent Local Newspaper Headlines | Daily Mail | Spending cuts may lead to CAB redundancies


Loads more but won't paste them all up - but basically bye bye cab unless the gov't pull their fingers out their arses.

and interesting article Nationwide Debt advice gone Independent alternative political comment
also not sure of the role of debt commissioner on debt advice funding but bill going through at the moment Publication: Bill 103 2010-11 (as introduced) - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[Angry Cat]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Disgraceful!

Many problems were coursed by the under funding of Tading Standards...

Now, CAB suffer the same...shame on the Coalition Gov.

[Angry Cat]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

Not sure if this has already been posted up?
But RP, normally gets to the bare bones of matters:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereport...umer_goes.html

Old blog, I know but relevant.

[Nibbler]

Re: Citizens Advice staff facing redundancies

BBC News - Debt advisors stop taking cases as funding ends

Hundreds of debt advisers have stopped taking on new cases because their funding is to be axed next month.

For the past five years, the £25m-a-year Financial Inclusion Fund has been paying for about 500 specialists in England and Wales to give free advice.

But the cash is due to run out in March and the government has said it will not renew the fund.

The news means that advisers face redundancy at a time when demand for their advice is forecast to grow.

The debt advisers affected have been sent redundancy letters and been told to stop taking on any new clients, other than those with the simplest problems.

The Money Advice Trust, a charity which promotes independent help for people with debt problems, forecasts that 200,000 extra requests for free debt advice are expected this year, taking the total to a record 1.6 million.

'Doesn't stack up'

Citizens Advice says its operations are already under pressure because of the loss of funding from local authorities. It says this decision to end funding could not have come at a worse time.

"It just doesn't stack up, unemployment is rising, the economy is in a difficult situation and there is an increasing demand for debt advice and at this time to lose frontline services in local communities doesn't seem to make sense," the organisation's director of policy, Teresa Perchard, told the BBC.

At the Mary Ward Legal Centre in Central London, 10 financial advisors have been sent redundancy notices as a result of the withdrawal of the fund.
"Not only am I going to lose my job but the service is going to go, the service that sees thousands queuing outside the door on busy days, appointments booked up weeks in advance and that's all going to be lost," said Cecilia Torsney, one of those who has received the letter.

The situation is seen as a huge opportunity for widely criticised debt management companies, who charge fees.

The Office of Fair Trading is cracking down on these firms after finding that they were riddled with bad practice.

Although there is still free advice available from several bodies, including Citizens Advice, these specialist advisers are trained to deal with complex cases and to represent clients to their lenders.

A spokesman for the the Treasury, which decides on the funding, said a new web and phone based service would be introduced and would be able to refer cases to specialists.

"We want to make sure that individuals facing financial difficulty can get advice early, rather than wait until their problems become much more difficult to resolve," he added.