Annual review [ 1.4 MB] - Citizens Advice

A registered charity No.1080581Company Limited byGuaranteeRegistration No. 3954988

About Copeland CAB 2Who’s who in the bureau 3Copeland Facts 4Minutes from 2009/10 AGM 5Manager’s Report 6Chair’s Report 7Millom 8Money Advice 9 - 10Welfare Benefits 11Macmillan benefits advice project 12Advice Session Supervisor 13 – 14HMP Haverigg 15Outreaches 16Volunteering 17Guidance Tutor and Training 18Our clients & issues 19Future Jobs Fund Project 20Cumbria Advice Network 21In the community and in the Office 22Social Policy 23Telephone Advice 24Trustees Report & Financial Statement 25

Open Session Times:Whitehaven13:00 – 19:00, Mondays10:00 – 15:00, TuesdaysWednesday: by appointment only10:00 – 15:00, ThursdaysFriday: by appointment onlyLocationTangier BuildingsGregg’s LaneTangier Street, WhitehavenCumbria, CA28 7UHContactTelephone: 01946 693321E-mail: whitehaven@cabnet.org.ukMillom09:00 – 15:00, Mondays09:00 – 15:00, Thursdays09:00 – 12:00, FridaysLocation31 Wellington StreetMillom, CumbriaLA18 4DGContactTelephone: 01229 772395E-mail: millom@cabnet.org.ukOutreach services:Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau offersadvice services in a variety of outreachlocations throughout the Borough. Homevisits are available where appropriate.The following lists of outreach sessionswere available during 2010-2011:Egremont, De Lucy Centre,11:30 – 13:30, MondaysCleator Moor, Town Hall,10:00 – 12:00, FridaysSeascale, Health Centre,Last Wednesday of every monthFrom January 2011:Cleator Moor, Howgill Centre09:00 – 11:00, alternative TuesdaysWhitehaven, Howgill Centre11:00 – 13:00, alternative MondaysWCH, Yewdale Ward09:00 – 12:00, WednesdaysHMP Haverigg (prisoners and staff)09:00 – 12:00, Mondays & TuesdaysOur Aims & Principles:The Citizens Advice service provides free,independent, confidential and impartial adviceto everyone on their rights andresponsibilities.We value diversity, promote equality andchallenge discrimination.Our aims are to provide the advice peopleneed for the problems they face, and toimprove the policies and practices that affectpeople’s lives.Help at the heart of your community.Registered Office:Tangier Buildings, Gregg’s Lane,Whitehaven, CA28 7UHRegistered Charity No. 1080581Company Limited by GuaranteeRegistration No. 3954988

BenefitsWelfare Benefits Supervisor:Catrina LazonbyMacmillan Benefits Adviser:Catrina LazonbyBenefits Caseworker:Gillian Percival (until Jan ‘11)Money AdviceLSC Money Advice Supervisor:Joyce Chapman (until Nov ‘11)John Chapman (from Nov ‘11)Money Advice Supervisor:Lisa WilfordLSC Money Advice Caseworker:John ChapmanFIF Caseworkers:Pam DouglasSteve KrugerMoney Advice Caseworkers:Neil Edgar - Northern RockGillian Percival - UU Trust Fund (fromJan ‘11)OutreachSouth Whitehaven OutreachCaseworker:John Chapman (until Aug ‘10)Outreach Caseworker:Gillian PercivalManagement/SupervisorsBureau Manager:Carol GrahamDeputy Managers:Joyce Chapman (Millom)Lisa Wilford (Whitehaven)Advice Session Supervisors:Joyce ChapmanHilary HemmLisa WilfordAdministration Supervisor:Larry BrownAdministrationSenior Administrator:Shelley HewitsonAdministrator:Adele TraversFuture Job Fund Workers:Chris Nichol (until Mar ’11)Mark McCarten (until Mar ’11)Jordan Todd (until Mar ’11)Allen Killip (until Feb ‘11)Lauren McNulty (until Mar ’11)JHP Trainee:Tahnee Shadforth (until Feb’11)VolunteersVolunteer Advisers:Pam MullineauxWendy BattersbyEileen O’FeeAnne DickCarol BatemanHilary HemmVerna LoweMary WaterhouseElizabeth WatsonMarion AndersonPhillip Corcutt (until Oct ’10)Sandra Sturman (until May ’10)Brenda LongDavid WillisVolunteer Trainee Advisers:Denise BurnessDiana FrancisJohn HamiltonFred LongAlex Moore (until Jun ‘10)Eve MooreMichelle KirkbridePaula Brown (until Nov ‘10)Chris TattersLorraine WilsonMadeleine Baird (until May ‘10)Sui Yen Wai (until Jun ‘10)Rebecca Harrison (until Oct ‘10)Michelle LlewellynRena VincentPaul CoxMoira CoombesPaul MitchellDavid BillingAllan TurnerVolunteers:Volunteer Social Policy Workers:Verna LoweFred LongVolunteer Administration:Sheila BlackadderSheila FlowerMatthew McKenzieVolunteer Reception:Eve O’ConnorAyesha ParvinTrustee BoardBoard Members:Mr. G. BawdenMr. G. BrunskillMr. P. HanrattyMr. V. LeaderMr. D. LiveseyMs. J. MicklethwaiteMs. L.. MooreMr. D. WalkerRev. G. WalkerMrs. R. WillisCompany Secretary:Ms. J. KennedySecretary to the Board:Ms. J. KennedyCompany Accountants:Saint & Co.

As a result of the economic climate Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau has facednumerous challenges in this financial year. The weakness of the global moneymarkets is forcing agencies to consider on which client groups their efforts should befocussed in order to address local needs.This year we have spent time examining how we can continue to develop our serviceto meet the needs of increasing client numbers while maintaining our high standardsof advice. We continue to work in close partnership with other agencies as a means ofsecuring the best outcomes for our clients and community.The current socioeconomic crisis has had positive consequences in that it hasencouraged better partnership working between agencies who may have previouslyconsidered their aims too diverse or distinctive to enable them to work in harmony.These same organisations have now identified and established synergies, previouslymissed or dismissed, for the benefit of their respective clients.Life changing events such as illness, loss of employment, bereavement, separationand the rising cost of food, fuel and utilities will ensure growing demand for ouradvice and support services.In an effort to ensure access to continuing support for clients facing these issues, April2010 saw us secure two years’ funding from Northern Rock for a full time debt workerto run an integrated debt advice project, which allows for the provision of telephonemoney advice in partnership with a CAB consortium, in addition to the face to faceadvice available in the bureau. This broadened the range of resources we can drawon in addressing the needs of those who are unable to access our offices andoutreach services, or may prefer money advice by a different means. This project isbeing carefully monitored in order to access additional funding to sustain andmaintain in-house provision of telephone advice throughout the borough.The Legal Services Commission awarded us, in consortium with Cumbria Law Centreand Allerdale Citizens Advice Bureau, the Social Welfare Contract for the region toprovide Legal Aid funded advice in the areas of Housing, Debt and Welfare Benefits.During the year we also successfully applied to United Utilities to fund the services ofa debt worker working specifically with referrals from mental health agencies, familycentres and West Cumberland Hospital. This project began in January 2011 andalthough current funding ceases December 2012, the evidence of the assistanceprovided to clients and the evidence of need for the service will be used to securefurther funding.Late in 2010 we were awarded money from Nationwide to target and meet theneeds of older clients, with whom we work specifically in managing their issues.Our Future Job Fund Workers were in post for the majority of 2010/11 – a greatsuccess! Their reports are included later.We continue to work with Macmillan, and other vulnerable groups, in order to helpimprove their quality of life. We also continue to work with prisoners in HMPHaverigg and offenders, ex-offenders and their families in the community in aneffort to assist them to understand their responsibilities and help remove barrierspreventing them from moving away from an offending cycle.Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau offers assistance and support across a range ofissues, helping people to manage debt, maximise income and secure and heat theirhomes. These are fundamental needs which must be met if people are to beenabled to move forward, in order to prevent or break cycles of debt anddeprivation.We also provide volunteering opportunities in a varied range of roles, from advisingand administration to reception or trustee board member. Being open to engagingin positions of responsibility ensures:Opportunities to improve skills + quality training schemes + supported workexperience in a supportive learning environment = a greater chance of accessingpaid employment in the community, increased self confidence and improvedgeneral well-being.This report, complied by volunteers and paid staff, describes work delivered by thebureau during 2010 -2011, and it is hoped it will provide some insight as to howCopeland Citizens Advice Bureau makes a positive contribution to the supportrequired by individuals and groups in our community.Please don’t forget, we are a local charity and we depend on your support in orderto continue to provide our services to the community of Copeland.Carol Graham, Copeland CAB Manager

2010 -2011 has not been an easy year for any charity in the country and we atCopeland CAB have realised this. It is obvious that we need to focus on specific areasof need within the community to deliver the greatest impact in these challengingtimes.This is also reflected in the funding resources we access. More and more funders areasking for specific projects to support the more vulnerable in our community.One of the biggest threats to our community at present is the loss of job security.People who, in the past, considered their employment was for life, have to face thereality that they may, due to the fragility of global markets, be suddenly jobless.This can be catastrophic to people: family units can be broken; debt problems quicklyarise; despair and a sense of worthlessness can then cause a myriad of issues to theperson concerned and his wider community.One of the other main areas of challenge for the bureau is the potential merger ofa number of local bureaux into a Cumbria wide organisation. While this is one ofthe aims of the national CA, we have some concerns that there may be a dilutionof service locally. Given Copeland CAB’s commitment to the people of Copeland,we must be wary of the initiative while still accepting there may be greaterbenefits in some form of partnering arrangements with neighbouring bureaux.This is an area of business we will be monitoring throughout the forthcoming year.Finally, I would like to offer my thanks and gratitude to the staff of the bureau. Wehave had a difficult year with the loss of our Manager for a significant amount oftime, but the staff (both volunteers and contract) rallied round to support thebureau and it is to their credit that the quality of service was never compromised.Well done to everyone and I look forward to next year with optimism.Peter Hanratty, Chair, Copeland CAB Trustee BoardHere at Copeland CAB we recognise this and we can provide a support structure thatcan, at worst, ease the situation and, at best, provide a sustainable solution toindividuals and families.The challenges facing the Bureau will be stiff, there are more and more agencieschasing a dwindling funding pot. But I have absolute faith in our staff to deliver thestandards of service we pride ourselves on. This will be done with grace and goodhumour in the face of a harsh economy.One of the challenges I would set the Board this year is to get the message out to thewider community of the work we deliver on a daily basis. While there are a numberof agencies who claim expertise and excellence in delivery of support services to thecommunity, in reality we are the only one stop shop for any member of ourcommunity requiring help on all issues from debt advice through welfare support tohousing and family crises. People need to get the message that Copeland CAB is herefor them.

The Millom office has had another busy and successful year since moving to ouroffice in Wellington Street in 2009. Our office is now centrally based and this hasenabled us to enhance a service that is client centred, user friendly and easilyaccessible to all.Millom office is open on Monday and Thursday for open sessions, Friday morningfor follow up appointments and Monday and Tuesday at HMP Haverigg outreachsessions.Bureau VolunteersTo help us provide the CAB service to clients we have been supported by our 6trained volunteer generalist advisers and 1 volunteer trainee adviser. Two of ourvolunteer advisers have been with the CAB in the Millom office for 10 years+ andtwo others 5 years.One of my roles in the bureau is to support, encourage, challenge and guide thegeneralist advisers and trainees through their time with us (hopefully all remainingfor many months if not years!). We all work first and foremost as a team in thebureau, supporting one another before, during and after client’s sometimescomplex and sometimes personal issues. The satisfaction we all gain for helpingthe clients is the knowledge we are helping to make a difference to their lives.We are extremely grateful for the commitment the volunteers give to the CAB,often volunteering for extra hours and days each week due to holiday’s, sicknessand family commitments.RecruitmentThe recruitment and training of our volunteers is vital to the continuation of the CABservice. During the year, we have had 5 volunteers join the Millom office,unfortunately 2 left for personal reasons, 1 to increase his working hours, 1 isundergoing the Generalist Adviser training and 1 is now our volunteer Social PolicyWorker.We are constantly looking for new volunteers to train with CAB as Gateway andGeneralist Advisers and we look forward to welcoming people into the CAB Service.With more trained volunteer advisers we will be able to open longer hours and toexpand our outreach sessions within the Millom and surrounding area. We are alsolooking for volunteers to train as Trustee board members and Social Policy workers.TrainingDuring the year we have had in-house training sessions on a variety of subjects e.g.:Case Recording, Employment and Support Allowance, Social Policy and theEmployment Act. We also include Bite sized learning and E-learning in our training.Our Advisers have been to training sessions on: Housing Foundation, Peer Review,Housing Advice and Relationship Breakdown.108Joyce Chapman, Deputy Manager based at Millom Office1312321767412Debt: 108, Finance: 3, Legal: 13,Travel: 2, Heath: 1,Tax: 7, Benefits: 6, Housing: 7,Immigration: 4, Consumer: 1, Other: 2,Relationship: 12Contact by method

Once again it has been a busy year for the Money Advice team at Copeland CABwith over 5900 debt issues handled – an increase of 26% on 2009/10 figures.Issues we are dealing with include unsecured and personal loan debts, credit andcatalogue and mail order debts.J Chapman, Cumbria County Council ProjectThe 2010/11 financial year showed to be a hugely popular and successful year forCumbria County Council project. Demand has continued to increase year on yearfor the service. With no eligibility test or financial restrictions that clients have tomeet, it enables client’s access to specialist help regardless of their current incomeor asset levels.The importance of continual funding from Cumbria County Council is essential inorder for clients to have access to free, independent, confidential and impartialspecialist advice.N Edgar, Integrated Debt Advice ProjectWork under the Integrated Debt Advice (IDA) project commenced in April 2010.The project is funded by the Northern Rock Foundation which is an independentcharity whose key aim is to tackle disadvantage and improve quality of life in theNorth East and Cumbria.Since its implementation the project has successfully assisted a varied crosssection of clients, from those on welfare benefits to high paid earners andfeedback from those clients has been extremely positive.In addition to providing a traditional face to face advice service, the project alsooffers clients specialist money advice over the phone, through its DAWNtelephone advice team based in Newcastle. This alternative option is particularlybeneficial for those who find attending the bureau difficult, for example, due towork constraints or transportation issues.In the first year the project managed to exceed its target whilst collaborativeworking with other project funders such as LSC and FIF allowed the bureau toJ Chapman, Legal Service Commission ProjectLSC funding has allowed low income clients access to free specialist debt advicein key arrears such as possession proceedings and insolvency. This has enabledclients to avoid losing their home via repossession and reduce the stress andstrain of their financial circumstances. With the continued rise of personalinsolvency and possession proceedings demand for this service remains high.In October 2010 Copeland CAB successfully bid for the LSC contract (inclusive ofdebt, welfare benefits and housing contracts) in the Copeland area via thetendering process. This has enabled clients to continue to receive much neededfree debt advice in the area.The Nationwide FoundationWe have received funding from The Nationwide Foundation to help olderpeople living in Copeland to maximise their income and deal with debt andhousing issues.£993,00the total figure of priority debt dealt with in Copeland£7.2m0during 2010/11the amount of non-priority debt that the moneyadvice team has dealt with in 2010/11

maintain short waiting times, with clients being offered a specialist money adviceappointment within only a few working days.G Percival, United Utilities Trust Fund ProjectThe United Utilities Trust Fund project commenced in January 2011 and during itsfirst quarter, outreaches were successfully set up on Yewdale Ward at WestCumberland Hospital and Howgill Family Centres in Whitehaven and Cleator Moor.Both these outreaches are attended by vulnerable clients suffering with mentalhealth or physical health problems or by families who require extra support toremain part of the community.Home visits and telephone advice have both been offered to vulnerable clientswho are unable to attend an appointment at the bureau or outreach; referrals arebeing received from the Community Mental Health Team, Croftlands, Howgill,Impact and other mental health agencies. Rapport with these agencies hasdeveloped and I hope will continue to grow throughout the project.P Douglas & S Kruger, Financial Inclusion Fund ProjectThis was the last year of second FIF project, funded by the Department forBusiness, Innovation and Skills, with the aim of providing quality free face-to-facedebt advice in the community.Much uncertainty surrounded the end of the project in March 2011 with nationallobbying of government to continue to fund this essential service, without whichmay people would not have access to face-to-face advice. This uncertainty led tomany bureaux instigating redundancy processes and scaling back the numbers ofnew clients seen. However Copeland bureau was confident that appropriatefunding would be found and continued to see record levels of clients with targetsexceeded for the year.This approach was vindicated when the government announced a further oneyear’sfunding enabling the bureau to continue to provide money advice to allclients who require it for the next twelve months.FFClientFClient5Top5.Client Feedback:“Response to my enquiry was bothquick and professional. Mycaseworker’s experience and advicewas of great assistance to me during avery worrying time.”Feedback:“I can’t thank you enough for yourhelp; you have made my life worthliving.”Feedback:“A big thank you to my caseworker for hisexpertise the way he sorted out my debtproblems. I can now sleep at night.”5 Debt Issues:1. Unsecured and Personal Loan Debt2. Credit, Store and Charge Credit Cards3. Bankruptcy4. Debt Relief OrdersCatalogue and Mail Order Debts

It has been another challenging year for advisers dealing with Welfare Benefitmatters in part due to the increasing number of Employment and SupportAllowance appeals. This is the result of the Government’s policy of reducing thenumbers of people claiming benefits on the grounds of sickness and we areconcerned about the quality of the medical assessments carried out by the DWP.Decisions to stop benefits cause our clients a great deal of distress and results in acut in their benefit income until the appeals are heard.The increase in the number of appeals has had an effect on the Courts andTribunals Service, the people tasked with hearing the appeals, and as a result casesare taking up to a year to be heard leaving our clients with a very limited amount ofmoney to live on during this time.Statistics show that following the introduction of Employment and SupportAllowance and it’s much tougher medical assessment, that 2/3rds of claimants arebeing refused entitlement to this sickness benefit. As a result demand for ourservice continues to grow.We have seen a change to the staffing with Gillian Percival moving onto the UnitedUtilities project from January, this left Catrina Lazonby working 18.5 hours on thiscontract. In December we successfully passed the Legal Services ContractCompliance Audit.4446 4471The number of benefit and tax credit issues handled by Copeland CABFClient Feedback:“Time, care, overall effort, feedback &results were great”“Could not have been better – 10/10.”FClient Feedback:“I and often results tell people were great2” how helpfulCAB has been to all my family andwould gladly contact them again ifneeded.”Client Feedback:F“My caseworker was very helpful,understanding and easy to talk to.”5Top 5 Welfare Benefit Issues:1. Disability Living Allowance – Care2. Employment Support Allowance3. Disability Living Allowance – Mobility4. Council Tax Benefit5. Housing Benefit

The demand for the Macmillan Benefits Advice service continued to grow in2010/11, health care professionals refer their patients for advice on many issuesincluding Welfare Benefits, help with the cost of travel to hospitals and grants.We have exceeded the targets for number of clients seen, these were set by thePCT, our current funder, at 60 and we exceeded this.We continue to provide this service mainly in peoples homes as most of thepeople referred are palliative patients and are unable to travel in to the bureau.This meant that there was a huge demand to accommodate in 18.5 hours and wecame to rely heavily on the volunteers in Millom who visited our clients andassisted with their benefit claims, we are very grateful for the support they haveprovided to the service and the clients.We have regularly been invited by Hospice at Home West Cumbria to be a guestspeaker on their 6 week programme entitled Living for Today which invitespatients with an incurable, life limiting illness and their carers to attend sessionsaimed to help them at this very difficult time.The positive feedback and demand for this service demonstrates the invaluablework that we do.Fshoulders.”FFClientClient Feedback:“I had problems with Tax Credits, myadvisor was brilliant she took over allcorrespondence and got us help fromthe local MP. The outcome was in ourfavour which was a weight lifted off ourClient Feedback:“My caseworker helped me apply forDisability Living Allowance and theaward was much more than Iexpected. It has eased our financialtroubles considerably.”Feedback:“Knowing experienced help withevery day matters and a friendlyvoice or face is always availableduring a very difficult period isinvaluable.”

General Advice Service – a day in the life of an Advice Session Supervisor (knownfor short as “ASS”).Role: to supervise general advisers and to provide support and back-up servicesas required. In addition check all general client enquiries to ensure qualityassurance, compliance with CAB standards and so on and to provide othersupport as required.So the day begins…Arrive at the office in Whitehaven, log on, unlock client records, put kettle on,check client appointments diary for the day, just as important check we’ve gotthe necessary milk, tea, coffee for everyone and hopefully also biscuits.It’s 9 am. The phone starts ringing. This year we’ve been fortunate to have threeFuture Jobs Fund workers with us and the extra manpower has enabled us to runa daily telephone enquiry service. So Chris or Jordan begin to take the day’senquiries, fielding as appropriate either by providing advice over the phone,posting out information, making follow up appointments here or by signpostingclients to another service more appropriate to their needs. Meanwhile Mark, ourthird Future Jobs Fund worker gets to grip with IT matters in the office and thenever-ending “To do List”.I get on with as much case checking and follow-up casework as possible beforeour open advice session begins at 10am.Our volunteer receptionist arrives at 9.30 and by 9.45 our volunteer advisers forthe day are arriving and raring to go. There’s a bit of catching up on news whilethey all get logged on to the client recording system. Then it’s 10 o’clock and thefirst clients have been booked in at reception and are waiting to be seen.Today as most days, we see a wide range of clients with an even wider range ofissues. There’s the client with a Notice Seeking Possession of their home, sothey’re at serious risk of facing eviction. This client has young children,considerable rent arrears and other debts so we refer them to both a housingspecialist to sort out the short term housing issue and a money advice specialistIt was good today to have access to the North Lakes FoodBank, based inCockermouth. This Christian charity provides food boxes of three days’ worth offood to people in need and since they extended their service to Copeland inDecember 2010 we have referred clients to them a number of times.Our general advice statistics are listed elsewhere and show the volume of enquiries.They do not show their increasing complexity – social security, debt management,employment, consumer, immigration – all are governed by highly complex legislationand regulations which seem to be constantly changing. Our advisers need to behighly trained and well supported in their work.The volunteers leave: job well done. I can use the last hour of the day to catch up onsome case work. There are also office matters to be dealt with and the training forour monthly volunteer advisers’ meeting to organise.My last thought as we end for the day is to thank all the volunteers who make up theCAB service. We’ve had several join us this year. They do a great job, often underconsiderable pressure, and we could not operate without them – THANK YOU!Hilary Hemm, Advice Session Supervisor at Whitehaven Office4446The number of clients Copeland CAB saw in 2010/11with one or more enquiries.

worker to sort out debts in the long-term. As always I’m pleased that we have in-housemoney advice workers and ready access for many clients through a legal aid contract withhousing advisers based at Allerdale CAB and the Cumbria Law Centre in Carlisle.The next client has just separated from their partner, is upset and struggling to take anyinformation in, so is given some basic advice and various factsheets relevant to theirposition so that they can read and re-read them at their leisure. They are reminded thatthey can come back at any time for more help.Two clients follow with problems about their applications for Employment SupportAllowance. We have become well used to ESA enquiries – over 50% of applicantsnationally fail their medical assessment with regard to their ability to work so many seekadvice on what to do next. One client also needs help with Disability Living Allowance andI’m pleased that our in-house Welfare Benefits specialist can assist them.Clients keep coming in, volunteer advisers keep on working, and the kettle keeps boilingfor the all–important tea and coffee (why does mine always go cold before I can finish it?).A homeless client arrives. One adviser spends the next two hours working with him (thegreat majority of our homeless clients are men), assessing what level of support he canexpect from the local authority, advising on alternative accommodation possibilities, whatbenefits to claim and assisting with this. It’s a taxing time for the adviser and they need abreather after this.Meanwhile, other clients come - a consumer enquiry about poor quality furniture; helpwith an income tax form linked to a pension; an immigration query for a client’s partnerwanting to come to the UK; an employee who has just been dismissed and another whowants to know about their rights when working on a bank holiday, two more new debtclients, a problem with a mobile phone contract, a query about dealing with a deceasedrelative’s estate, an enquiry about general benefit rights which turns into a need for anemergency supply of food, a neighbour boundary dispute. A pretty typical day, really.Advisers grab a few moments to eat lunch at their desk then it’s on again with the nextclient.By the time our session ends at 3pm we have assisted 16 clients in the open session and afurther 5 on the telephone. There are still cases for the advisers to write up and follow upcase work to do.FF aFFClient Feedback:“Your services towards the publicare first class – bearing in mindthat all work carried out isvoluntary – I would not hesitate tosuggest anyone of your kind help.”Client Feedback:“Very satisfied with the level ofservice and would recommend toothers. The advice given to meenabled me to get a full refund onfaulty product purchase.”Client Feedback:“You do a brilliant service for thecommunity and without thisservice; a lot of people wouldstruggle.”Client Feedback:“I was upset and worried when Iarrived. My advisor put me at easeand got straight to the problem andwith his help the problem was sortedwithin 2 weeks.”

Seathwaite Family Centre, MirehouseSt. Peters Village Hall, WoodhouseFor the first half of the year the Mirehouse andWoodhouse outreaches attracted many new andexisting clients who lived close by.These outreach services consisted of a drop insession on Friday mornings (Mirehouse) andTuesday mornings (Woodhouse) affordingclients an additional opportunity for face to faceadvice outside of the bureau office.We offered these outreaches, funded by SouthWhitehaven Partnership until September 2011.Howgill Family Centre, WhitehavenFrom January 2011 we offered face to faceappointments for Howgill service users providingadvice on issues such as debt and welfarebenefits.Yewdale Ward, West Cumberland HospitalFrom January 2011 a weekly outreach wasoffered for patients on Yewdale Ward. This faceto face appointment based session was availableevery Wednesday morning for patients todiscuss issues including debt, welfare benefitsand housing.Seascale Health Centre, SeascaleEvery last Wednesday of the month an outreachservice was available for residents of Seascaleand nearby towns and villages. An appointmentbased session was introduced to allow clients inneed of advice a chance to be given a face toface session without having to travel to eitherWhitehaven or Millom.Cleator Moor Town HallFollowing on from the previous year, the Fridaymorning drop in session held in Cleator Moorcontinued to generate the largest number ofclients in all of Copeland outreaches.Such high attendance figures have proven that thisservice is vital to clients unable to visit the mainoffice.Howgill Family Centre, Cleator MoorFrom January 2011 we offered face to faceappointments for Howgill service users providingadvice on issues such as debt and welfare benefits.De Lucy Centre, EgremontThe De Lucy Centre outreach served as anotheroutlet through which much needed face to faceadvice was provided to those residents living in theEgremont area, which lies just less than 6 milesaway from Whitehaven town centre.This service, too, has been successful, with manyenquiries being addressed on the outreach day,while more complex, time-consuming matters andthose requiring casework were given follow upappointments.HMP HaveriggFor further details, please see the HMP Haveriggreport on page 15.

A couple of us were asked to write this section and as our experiences haveoverlapped to some extent so far, for example length of volunteering atCopeland CAB and attending the same training course this seemed veryappropriate. But what to say and how?So hopefully this report has said something about the volunteering experience butalso if anyone with access to the report is interested in volunteering for CAB we, onthe basis of a positive, learning experience so far would certainly encourage you toexplore it further.As the training course was largely experiential we thought we’d begin bysimply thinking of few words that we individually associated with thevolunteer adviser role: rewarding; educational; stimulating, challenging;valued and valuable sprang to mind.The process has involved a steep but ‘copable – with’ learning curve, aided byour guidance tutor and her having to cope with early questions like, ‘butwhat’s the difference between a learning journal, an enquiry learning journaland a self – study pack and what do I look at first!’. We’ve had access to a wellstructured study programme and opportunities to observe clients in interviewsessions. Attending the external training course with other trainees from thecounty before being introduced to clients was very helpful. Emphasis initiallyfocuses on exploring the problem i.e. the first stage of the CAB model. So,reassuringly not being ‘thrown in at the deep end’.A third course day provided more practice for interpersonal skills throughrole-play exercises.FIn a safe, supportive environment we gave and gainedfeedback and had sufficient time in a relaxed manner to discuss any issueswhich arose.So, several months on as novice volunteers we’re gaining confidence in termsof seeing clients and are rewarded with a sense of making a positivecontribution to the team.This confidence has also been nurtured by consistent, reliable access to theadvice session supervisors and other team members.FFVolunteerMoira Coombes & Rena Vincent, Volunteers at Whitehaven Office£145,000The market value of volunteers across CopelandVolunteer Feedback:“Success for the client is alwaysgratifying”Feedback:“It is rewarding to know that we canhelp people in our community”Interested in joining our team?Please call: Whitehaven (01946 693321) or Millom (01229 772395) for details.51The number of peoplewho volunteer atCopeland CAB

RecruitmentDuring the year the bureau has had a total of 27 enquiries about volunteering. Ofthese, most were interested in advising but some were interested in receptionand administration roles.We continue to actively recruit and respond to all enquiries by supplying detailedinformation on volunteering in the bureau and following up applications.VolunteersOur 17 volunteers continue to give generously of their time and make a greateffort to attend training sessions both here in bureau and other venues. Alladvisers now follow the new training route to become competent Advisers andthose who started on the old Certificate course are now transferred to theupdated system.The new modular training is aimed to be more flexible and adaptable to thevolunteer roles. Transferring from one role to another e.g. from adviser toreceptionist or gateway assessor to adviser is more straight forward and thevolunteer does not have to repeat training but only complete the relevantmodules.During the year, volunteer David Willis successfully gained his advisercompetence certificate.TrainingVolunteer training within the bureaux has been given by various organisationsand bureau staff.Subjects covered have included: - Deposit and guarantee scheme, DWP LoneParent Adviser, Howgill Sure Start and Challenging discrimination in MentalHealth. Most volunteers attended a session of Gateway refresher: In addition,Shelley talked to all the volunteers about the Cumbrian Advice Network forwhich she is the bureau co-ordinator. Both Volunteers and Staff attended CANtraining on How to deal with bailiffs and Essential Housing Law.StaffBureau staff travelled as far as Leeds, Kendal, Penrith and Barrow to attend coursesrelating to their speciality. Subjects covered: Financial Capability: SupervisionCompliance (ALLIED SERVICES ALLIANCE): Benefits on Bereavement: Rights ofEU/EEA Nationals: Tribunal Rules: Social Security and Tax Credit Law Update(CPAG):Start to Sign (RNID): Housing advice and relationship breakdown: Social FundWorkshop(IRS): Working and Child Tax Credits (CPAG).At the same time staff continues to offer patient help and advice to volunteers,sparing time in spite of their busy schedules.Catrina renewed her St. John’s Ambulance Emergency first Aid Certificate. Lisa helda review for all reception staff. Pam attended the TS Forums held every 4 monthsfor Cumbria.Pam Mulineaux, Guidance TutorFinancial Empowerment TrainingI underwent training to be a financial empowerment trainer in May 2010. This was a3 day course.In June 2010 I attended the Financial Capability Forum/Conference at Rheggedwhere we had the opportunity to network and share ideas.On 15 th March 2011 we again provided Financial Capability Training for 18 adults onthe New Deal programme at the Phoenix Centre in Cleator Moor. We delivered a 2hour session on Financial Capability.Pam Douglas, Financial Capability TrainerTraining courses outside the bureau attended by volunteers were:- GatewayAssessment: Adviser Skills: Housing: Employment and Immigration. More CABtraining continues to be transferred to in bureau e-learning to be done by theindividual or in groups.Where possible, we try to organise group sessions to address this learning as we

In 2010/11 the staff and volunteers of Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau have:· Helped over 4000 people with 14,269 issues· Offered 1400 hours of face to face drop-in advice sessions· Assisted 97 clients to complete a Debt Relief Order or Bankruptcy application· Received feedback from 96% of clients who were satisfied with the service they received,95% who would use us again and 98% who would recommend the bureau to a friend.14,269 issuesClients by age group 2010/11Client by Employment 2010/11Enquires Dealt With by Copeland CAB in 2010/11

The year from April 2010 to April 2011 saw us fulfil the greater part of ourcontract under the Future Job Fund scheme at the bureau, which began onMarch 8 th 2010.Springtime witnessed the blossoming of our bureau careers: our responsibilitiesbegan to increase gradually, as we nurtured and developed new skills. Shelleyand Eve O’Connor offered tutelage on reception duties, we were guided throughthe administration roles by Larry, Shelley and Adele and, by the end of May, wehad completed the necessary Gateway course enabling us to see clients face toface. We soon learned that the bureau was no place for a shrinking violet!Summer foretold of a bright future as we took on such diverse tasks as deliveringpromotional leaflets to the majority of houses in South Whitehaven (every sunblessedFriday!), assisting with funding bids, helping put reports together andassuming the duties of the outreach worker servicing Mirehouse.Having sampled a wide variety of bureau work at the approach of autumn, webegan to fall into more defined roles. Most of us decided to proceed along theGeneralist training route, and an overhaul of the telephone advice service sawseveral of us occupied with the implementation and maintenance of an ongoingproject.We returned with renewed vigour from the respite of the holiday period, but thewinter forecast was bleak: our days at the bureau were numbered. We continuedin our roles for the final couple of months’ employment before we were all finallybade a fond farewell by those with whom we had worked and come to treat asfriends during our time at the bureau.The present finds us welcoming the return of spring, the rejuvenating essence ofwhich has given two of us a new lease of life as volunteers with the bureau.Our experience here has equipped us with the skills necessary to building a career, butonly time will tell what we will reap from these sown seeds.Chris Nichol, Future Jobs Fund Worker at Whitehaven OfficeI was employed under The Copeland Borough Council Future Jobs Fund Scheme for 1year from March 22 nd 2010 to March 25 th 2011 at Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau(Millom Office). I have gained a lot of knowledge while working in the Bureau.I have met some really nice people who are willing to help you the best way theypossibly can. Everyone at CAB works as a team to ensure the service we provide runssmoothly and efficiently.Before I started at CAB, I had no knowledge of Administration Work but since I havebeen an employee within the organisation I have become skilled at duties such as;customer service, filing, faxing, photocopying etc. I also enjoy compiling all ourstatistical information for Haverigg Prison and producing posters and leaflets etc pluskeeping all our displays interesting but clearly visible for the public.I have completed my CAB Gateway Assessors Course and my NVQ Level 2 in BusinessAdministration and I am now working towards my Level 3. Overall I have achieved a lotwhilst working within the Bureau and I appreciate the help, training and supportprovided from fellow colleagues and volunteers to accomplish these.Lauren McNulty, Future Jobs Fund Worker at Millom Office

It has been an exciting year for the Network which has seen our membershipgrow, the launch of our website, a successful catalogue of training events,networking lunches and our 2 nd Annual Conference.The project began with nine initial partners – seven Citizens Advice Bureaux,Cumbria Law Centre and Shelter and we are proud to say we now have wellover 100! These are both small and large organisations providing help andadvice to the people of Cumbria.The Cumbria Advice Network website went ‘live’ in June 2010. The websitelists all network members and the services they provide, as well as ageographical map showing where services are delivered. As the projectdevelops, agencies will be able to use the website to determine where torefer clients and how to refer a client to a particular organisation. The websitehas proved to be extremely popular with network members and by the end ofMarch 2011 had over 25,000 hits!During Advice Week in October we held a series of networking lunches acrossthe county. The aims of the lunches were for advice agencies to get together,promote their service and to learn about how other advice providers canpotentially help their clients. Each event attracted up to 16 differentorganisations and by the end of the week organisations were making referralsthey would not have made if it had not been for the Network. Due to thesuccess of the week we are already planning next year’s events!Our 2 nd Annual Conference was held on 20 th January 2011 which was attendedby 84 people from 55 organsiations. Andy Beeforth OBE, Director of theCumbria Community Foundation made the keynote speech and we gave six ofour members the opportunity to ‘showcase’ their organisations and explainthe work that they do and the services they provide. We held sessions onreferral and Working Together, Campaigning for Change, Discrimination andGetting your Voice Heard.If you are interested in joining the network or would like to know more pleasecontact Shelley on 01946 693321 or netchamp@whitehaven.cabnet.org.uk.www.cumbriadvicenetwork.org.ukFMember Feedback:“Informative and Inspiring”FMemberFMember Feedback:Feedback:“The Sharing of information &contacts is helpful to our clients asthey will often have multipleproblems. If we can signpost them tothe organisation most able to helpthem this will be of great benefit”“Really useful get together. Great tofind out what other agenciesspecialize in. Very helpful to knowwhat’s out there for clients that myparticular agency would deal with”Shelley Hewitson, Network Champion for Copeland

Copeland Citizens Advice Bureau has delivered presentations and informative talksto parish councils, pensioners groups, social groups and other local communitygroups during 2010/11. These talks inform members of our aims and principles, thework we do with clients, volunteering, social policy, an overview of the CAB serviceand how we might be able to work together.Neighbourhood Forums - The bureau attended meetings in Egremont, CleatorMoor, Hillcrest & Hensingham and Millom. A requirement for bureau services wasrecognised on every occasion and we are delighted that funding was provided tohelp satisfy this need.Health & Wellbeing Days held for the employees of Sellafield Ltd and CopelandBorough Council, respectively. It was thought that the services offered by thebureau could play an essential role in the maintenance of a stable lifestyle, whichhas a significant impact upon general health and wellbeing.Frizington and Seascale played host to ‘Together We CAN’ events in February andMarch, respectively. These community focused schemes, which were facilitated byCumbria County Council and attended by Cumbria Constabulary, NHS Cumbria,housing associations and local voluntary organisations, allowed local residents toexercise their influence in suggesting improvements to community services. Theevents also sought to build trust and maintain relationships between the publicsector, voluntary sector and the community at large.The H. M. Prison Haverigg Resettlement Centre held an open day to encouragepartnership working among outside agencies that visit the Prison ResettlementCentre. Agencies in attendance included ACE - Assisted Community Engagement(Housing in Cumbria and Lancashire area), Turning Point, Stonham Housing, CASS -Cumbria Assisted Support Scheme, Working Links and Halliday Reeves Solicitors(Immigration Specialist).The Learn2Earn event, held in the Millom Network Centre was held for the purpose ofbringing training and work-orientated opportunities to the attention of the generalpublic. The bureau exhibited a display stand and materials to be distributed amonginterested parties and gave us the opportunity to update details held on these groups,meet personnel and refresh inter-organisational communication links.The Millom Guide Hall hosted the ‘My Millom – Proud To Be’ “Have Your Say Day” inmid-February. This was a joint initiative planned by Millom Town Council and CopelandBorough Council to discover how residents really felt about Millom: the things of whichthey are proud and those that they would like to change.As well as delivering presentations to groups and agencies in Copeland, we alsoencourage agencies to come to us to discuss the services they offer to our staff andvolunteers at our monthly workers meetings.During 2010/11 agencies that have visited us have included:· Howgill Family Centre· The lone parent adviser from Whitehaven’s Jobcentre Plus· DIGS Deposit· Grant Thornton (to discuss IVA’s with our money advice team)HThe bureau is keen to work in partnership with groups who work in Copeland. In2010/11 we have worked successfully with ‘Headspace’ to deliver a successful monthlydrop in advice session at the bureau. This is available for for anyone seeking advice andsupport with neurological conditions, including, Acquired Brain Injury, Huntington’sdisease, Motor Neurone Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. We look forward to continuingthis relationship in 2011/12. We also work with the ‘Talking Newspaper’ providinginformation on CAB services and updates on scams and issues such as benefit changes.Want to know about what we do? Invite us to your meetings.Please call: Whitehaven (01946 693321) or Millom (01229 772395) for details.

Social Policy is one of the twin aims of the bureau and is at the forefront ofour minds when dealing with clients.A case becomes a social policy issue if it is a problem affecting many people,if it is a problem resulting from a change of law, if it shows a basic injustice orunfairness or if there is evidence of discrimination. In addition to the abovewe receive “Calls for evidence” from Central office which highlights issuesthey have recognised as being a national issue and want further evidence.During the period 1/4/10/-31/3/11 we created 148 bureau evidence formson a range of issues. Most of these were sent to central office for theiraction. Below is a chart of the types of issues identified in CopelandIn July 2010 we received a letter from Central Office informing us that wewere one of the ten winners selected as part of eBEF quality month toreceive an award because of the good quality of the information sent toCentral Office. The policy officers nominated the particular case because –“an eBEF about an N-Power customer facing debts due to unexplainedincreases in payment meter charges. The issue was well explained givingdetails of charges and the client’s vulnerability as he was diabetic with amental illness and had recently returned from a month in hospital.”The bureau is represented at the Cumbria Social Policy meetings in Kendal toensure we keep abreast of current issues and put forward any concerns wemay have within our area. Issues raised by us have included harassment bybailiffs, the situation for homeless young people in Copeland and the impacton clients of the difficulty of contacting government departments,particularly the DWP and HMRC.Verna Lowe, Social Policy Co-ordinator148the amount of bureau evidencetheforms created during 2010/1152amount of benefit relatedsocial policy issues

To everyone who doesn’t know already, Telephone Advice is exactly that;advice provided over the telephone...When the decision to introduce this service was first discussed, Chris and Iboth knew it wasn’t going to be something that could be easily throwntogether. After a brief discussion with all those involved, we began work onthe reinvention of the current system that was in place.Previously, when a client called the Bureau with the hope of receivinginformation via the phone, their details would be taken along with a briefsummary of their enquiry. This would then be looked at by a volunteeradvisor when available, with the return call being several days after the initialcontact.This was to change.From October 1 st 2010, if a client calls and requests advice or informationover the telephone, advice or information is given. If a client requests anappointment, details are taken, and if appropriate, an appointment is made.The return call was nearly always in the same day, sometimes within thesame hour, drastically shortening the response time.For the first month, advice was available 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday.Following this introduction and trial period, the demand for the service wasoverwhelming. The time that the telephone advice service was available wasreduced from November onwards and set hours introduced.Fig. 1394M Tu W Th FTotal amount of clients dealt withthrough the telephone adviceservice since October 1st5Fig. 2 Fig. 3Demand did not decrease.I believe that the statistics for the first 6 months speak for themselves, so Ineed not say more, all I would like to add is that the service for me as anadvisor was challenging, extremely interesting, highly stressful at times,always demanding but overall: Very satisfying.I just hope our clients feel the same. Jordan Todd, Telephone AdvisorFig. 1 the amount of enquiries taken on each day of the week; Mon: 106; Tues: 85;Wed: 119; Thurs: 54; Fri: 61.Fig. 2 represents the enquiry areas of calls; debt highest at 99 followed by benefits at 94.Fig. 3 the amount of new clients generated by telephone advice; 70% of callers initiatedcontact for their first time with the bureau and 30% are returning clients.

Contact UsMirehouseWoodhouseCleator MoorEgremontWhitehaven OfficeTangier BuildingsGregg’s LaneWhitehavenCumbria, CA28 7UHTel: 01946 693321WE WOULD LIKE TO THANKthe following for their supportthroughout the year:SeascaleMain OfficeOutreach Service; Call for DetailsMillom OfficeHaverigg31 Wellington StreetMillomCumbria, LA18 4DGTel: 01229 772395www.adviceguide.org.uk