CAS briefing on the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on the Department for Works and Pensions.
Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland dealt with close to 189,000 new benefit issues in 2009/10 – 430 new benefit issues for every day of the year. CAS is concerned that the changes announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) in October 2010 will be problematic for new and current benefit recipients and will increase the number of benefit issues brought to bureaux in Scotland. With a higher unemployment rate compared to the rest of the UK, Scotland continues to see an increase in the number of people requiring assistance from the Government. The new policies risk isolating a number of people who are vulnerable and in the future would be unable to receive help when they need it most.