Annual review [ 1.4 MB] - Citizens Advice

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