Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau
ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019
Introduction from the Chair and Manager Welcome to this annual report summarising the achievements of Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau in 2018/19 We were delighted this year when Citizens Advice Scotland chose Helen Wilson from Aith as Volunteer of the Year. Helen made it clear that she was accepting the award on behalf of all her fellow volunteers. You can read Helen’s story in this report. We are proud that our volunteers and paid staff have continued to make such a huge positive difference to people’s lives. Once again, good advice has resulted in almost £1.7 million coming in to the pockets of people in Shetland - most of this in terms of benefits for people with health problems and disabilities, and also for vulnerable elderly people. We would urge you to read the case studies so you can see the difference that has been made to individuals who have been helped to increase their incomes, tackle debt, live in warmer homes and boost their health and wellbeing. By bringing extra funding into Shetland, we have been able to maintain our outreach service, offered on a monthly basis, in 9 health centres. 10% of our advice is now delivered in this way
Gordon G Mitchell
Chairman
making it easier for folk to access our help. We continued to deliver the Patient Advice and Support Service which supports anyone wishing to make a comment or complaint about NHS services; and the Pensionwise service which provides impartial guidance about pension options. In 2018/19, we developed an important new service, Warmer Homes for Shetland. Funded by the Climate Challenge Fund, this service supports local households to reduce their energy bills whilst also cutting their carbon emissions through home energy advice visits, drop-in clinics and community engagement activities. In the first 12 months, 94 home energy visits were completed and the project is on track to achieve a lifetime saving of 784 tonnes of CO2 by the end of March 2020.
Karen Eunson
Manager
Cover photo: Chris Brown
Our success, as ever, is down to our team of dedicated volunteers and paid staff.
OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS
1,724
47%
FACE TO FACE
367
INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS ADVISED
28%
BY PHONE
HOME VISITS TO PEOPLE UNABLE TO ACCESS THE SERVICE
18%
BY EMAIL
7%
BY LETTER
WE ADVISED ON 6,353 ISSUES
57%
15% TAX DEBT FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
BENEFITS
10% ENERGY AND COMMS
£1,692,924
4% 4% 3% 2% 1% 1%
LEGAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP HOUSING CONSUMER HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE 1% IMMIGRATION 1% TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT
FINANCIAL GAIN ACHIEVED WITH OUR SUPPORT
INCLUDING
£1,508,945 10,000+ HOURS DONATED BY OUR VOLUNTEERS
133
THROUGH SUCCESSFUL BENEFIT APPLICATIONS, APPEALS AND BACK PAYMENTS
=
PEOPLE WITH DEBT ASSISTED BY CAB
£78,000+ AT THE
NATIONAL LIVING WAGE
£1,266,852 £9,525
TOTAL DEBT WE HELPED CLIENTS WITH
AVERAGE DEBT PER CLIENT
CLIENT SATISFACTION
99% 100% 94% 98% 99% HAPPY WITH ACCESS AT MAIN OFFICE
HAPPY WITH ACCESS TO OUTREACH
SATISFIED WITH SERVICE
WOULD USE SERVICE AGAIN
WOULD RECOMMEND THE SERVICE
VOLUNTEERING VOICE
Helen Wilson
Helen started volunteering for CAB in 2006 and became a Licensed Adviser in 2007. At the CAS 75th Anniversary Conference she was named as one of the national Volunteers of the Year.
I started volunteering with CAB after I had a stroke and got pensioned out of work. I did a New Directions course at Shetland College and, when it ended, all the other students were going on to employment and I felt lost as I wasn’t fit enough to work. The college tutor suggested I could try voluntary work with Citizens Advice but I thought at the time that it wouldn't be for me. After beating myself up for ages, I saw an advert in the Shetland Times looking for volunteers at CAB and decided to call. I got an interview and started training. I have now been volunteering for 14 years. At times, I have felt that I have not been able to give enough to clients and have been frustrated at this. Then at other times I think, “Wow, what did I just do there!” I love coming into the office mainly because folk here don't see my disabilities and the clients I help don't judge me. They don't care if I don't fit into certain criteria. They only see me helping and assisting them with their problems. I was - and still am - overwhelmed that I was nominated to get an award as part of the 75th year celebrations. I was even more shocked when I won! I was listening to Rory Mair, the Chair of Citizens Advice Scotland, announcing who the winners were and I was thinking, “Aww, that poor person, they've really gone through a lot.” Then he said, “This person does a
40 mile round trip twice a week to volunteer”, and I thought, “Oh, that person does the same mileage as me.” Then he said my name! I was in shock but through a few tears I managed to get to the stage and met HRH Princess Anne who gave me the award, a beautiful engraved silver quaich. She was lovely and put me at ease asking questions about our CAB and Shetland in general. I would like to say to folk, don't let obstacles in your life stop you from doing things you want to do. If you feel like I did at quite a young age, that you won’t be able to do anything useful again, then think again. Try different things. There's a niche for everyone in this life and it may be volunteering.
Join the Team!
Do you enjoy helping all kinds of people? Are you a good listener? Can you commit 6-8 hours per week? Volunteer at your local CAB
• Meet new people and learn new skills
Contact Shetland CAB on 01595 694696 or by emailing: sicab@shetland.org
CAB Across the Isles We continued to offer a programme of outreach sessions across Shetland with monthly visits to 9 health centres in rural and island areas – Unst, Yell, Whalsay, Hillswick, Brae, Walls, Bixter, Scalloway and Levenwick. 100% of clients in our satisfaction survey were happy with the access to our outreach service in local health centres. This map shows how CAB is being accessed by people across the isles.
13%
9% NORTH ISLES Unst - Yell Fetlar Whalsay Skerries
NORTH MAINLAND
8% WEST MAINLAND FOULA AND PAPA STOUR
12% CENTRAL MAINLAND
CLIENT QUOTES
47%
LERWICK AND BRESSAY “Thanks for coming to Whalsay. Your advice has made such a difference and I don’t think I would have managed to come to the Lerwick office.” “Thank you so much for seeing me the other day. I was so worried about it and felt so ashamed that I almost walked out before I saw you. I just feel so embarrassed about the whole thing, but I’m so glad I saw you as it’s already lifted a huge weight off my shoulders and you were so nice and non-judgemental about it all.” “I wish to pass on my sincere thanks to the adviser who helped me with my PIP application etc. I was not aware that CAB existed and I am extremely happy with the great service CAB provided.”
Our team
of 27 volunteers - generalist advisers, benefits support workers, social policy coordinator, admin assistant and board members – come from across the isles:
11% SOUTH MAINLAND AND FAIR ISLE
2 NORTH ISLES 4 NORTH MAINLAND 5 WEST MAINLAND 5 CENTRAL MAINLAND 8 LERWICK 3 SOUTH MAINLAND
CASE STUDIES
The impact of advice Increasing Income
Cutting Energy Costs
Tackling Debt
Client came into the CAB office looking for help as she was struggling financially. She is single, of working age, and lives alone in owner-occupied accommodation. She was in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), as she was too unwell to work, and also had a council tax reduction. The client has mental health problems.
Client, her husband and young child live in a council house in a rural area. The client’s husband works full-time and she stays at home to look after their child. The family are on a low income so receive Child Tax Credits. The client came to a CAB Outreach Session as she was worried about the family’s energy costs.
As the client’s health problems mean she has difficulties looking after herself, we helped her apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This application was granted, increasing her income by £58.70 per week. As the client lived alone, and no-one claimed Carer’s Allowance for looking after her, the grant of PIP meant that she was also entitled to a payment of Severe Disability Premium in her ESA of £65.85 per week. As a result of CAB advice, her income therefore increased by a total of £124.55 per week. This made a huge difference to the client who felt she would no longer have to worry about being able to pay bills. She said that she would not have been able to manage the application process without CAB help.
The client’s first problem was that she could not understand her energy company’s statement. The Energy Adviser could see that the family were on a fixed tariff which was coming to an end and at this point they would go back to a standard tariff which would be even more expensive. She could also see that the client had been receiving estimated bills for some time. The client was not aware of the problems this can cause. Her energy company had been under-estimating her usage so she had not been paying enough to cover her usage costs. This meant that a debt of £1,175 had built up.
Client has recently separated from her partner, is pregnant and on maternity leave and has a 3 month old baby. She is struggling to meet her monthly expenditure on her reduced income and is particularly worried about her credit card and overdraft. The Money Adviser carried out a benefit check and helped the client to increase her monthly income by assisting her to claim Universal Credit, Council Tax Discount (25% as a single person) and Council Tax Reduction. She advised the client that once she was in receipt of Universal Credit, she would also be able to apply for a Best Start grant of £600 as she has a baby under 6 months old.
With her situation more stable, the client was keen to explore the possibility of undertaking some work. The CAB Benefits Adviser gave her advice about the DWP’s “permitted work rules”, so that she could carry out a limited amount of work to supplement her income, in a way that would not affect her benefits. The Benefits Adviser also established that the client’s home was in need of repair, as she had no hot water. As the client was in receipt of means-tested benefits, we were able to refer her to Hjaltland Housing Association’s One Stop Shop for assistance under the Handyperson’s Scheme. They arranged repairs, free of charge. The Benefits Adviser also arranged for the client to receive a fridge/freezer, under SSE’s Free Appliance Scheme. The improvements to the client’s home further improved her mental and physical well-being.
The Energy Adviser liaised with the energy company and got a monthly direct debit set up to cover her usage. She also asked the energy company to consider the family for their Priority Assistance Fund since they had not known how to use their storage heaters properly and had not understood the billing process. This application was approved and their debt of £1,175 was cleared. The Energy Adviser visited the client at home to show her how to use her storage heaters efficiently and how to send in accurate meter readings. Finally, she helped the family to access a further fixed-term tariff when their current tariff ended so that they would not go back on a more expensive standard tariff. The client was very relieved to have the debt written off and now feels more in control of how her heating works and how it is paid for.
The Money Adviser prepared a financial statement and wrote to the client’s creditors and negotiated token payments of £1.00 per month towards her debts. It was agreed with the client that this repayment arrangement will be reviewed when she returns to work. The Money Adviser went through the client’s income and expenditure with her and provided budgeting advice on how she could reduce her expenditure during this period. The client was also given information on getting divorced, child maintenance options, legal aid and finding a solicitor. The client feels she is now able to manage her money and budget through the next few months until she goes back to work. She is relieved that her creditors have agreed a repayment plan and she won’t be getting any more chasing phone calls.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT – 31 MARCH 2019
INCOME Grant income ESF funding Other income
EXPENDITURE Charitable activities (DECREASE)/ INCREASE IN FUNDS
2019 £
2018 £
292,735 89,659 1,692 ______
219,740 85,959 1,029 ______
384,086
306,728
385,421
291,700
(1,335) ======
15,028 ======
BALANCE SHEET - 31 March 2019 £ CURRENT ASSETS Debtors Cash at bank and in hand
CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year NET CURRENT ASSETS REPRESENTED BY Restricted funds Unrestricted funds TOTAL FUNDS
2019 £
£
39,221 184,010 _______ 223,231
17,447 189,997 ________ 207,444
(21,751) ______
(4,629) ______
2018 £
201,480
202,815
======
======
51,102 150,378 _______
53,022 149,793 _______
201,480 ======
202,815 ======
The figures contained within the income and expenditure account and the balance sheet shown above were extracted from the charity’s financial statements. These were approved by the board of directors on 20 August 2019. A copy of the charity’s financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019 can be obtained from our main office or by writing to the following address: Companies House, 4th Floor, Edinburgh Quay 2, 139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 9FF (quoting ref SC176817)
Directors Gordon Mitchell – Chair Sue Beer – Vice Chair Richard Lewis – Treasurer Camille Brizell (resigned 18th July 2018) - Elsbeth Clark (resigned 29th May 2018) - Karen Fraser Maggie Gemmill - Stewart Hay - David Marsh - Philip Morrison-Gale (resigned 19th March 2019) Fiona Robertson - Gordon Silver (elected 21st August 2018)
Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau
FREE IMPARTIAL
INDEPENDENT
CONFIDENTIAL MARKET HOUSE, 14 MARKET STREET TEL: EMAIL: SICAB@SHETLAND.ORG
A charitable company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland No. 176817 Registered Office Market House, 14 Market Street, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0JP Company Secretary Karen Eunson (Manager) Recognised by the Inland Revenue as a Scottish Charity No. SC01978
Drop In Advice Opening Hours
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Rolling programme of outreach in rural areas at health centres in
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