Publications

The latest in a series of reports into problems faced by consumers in Scotland when shopping online, this reports charts the progress of delivery charges from 2012-2015.

Childcare in Scotland has moved up the political agenda in recent years with the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 extending the amount of free early education available for three and four year olds as well as looked-after two year olds, those in kinship care and those from workless households, from 475 to 600 hours per year.

In October 2011, Citizens Advice Scotland published a briefing entitled The Impact of  the Welfare Reform Bill on Scotland’s people and services. The briefing showed that  an estimated £2.5 billion would be taken out of the local economy in Scotland during  the lifetime of this Parliament and predicted what the impacts would be on people. 

Background

The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill was announced following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in December. It will introduce a cap of 1% for three years from 2013/14 on most working-age benefits and tax credits.  MPs debate the Bill on Monday 21st January 2013.

Over 1 million Scots are being ‘routinely ripped off’ by unfair delivery charges because of where they live, according to new evidence published by Citizens Advice Scotland.

By analysing over 3,000 customer complaints and over 500 online companies, we have uncovered a ‘postcode penalty’ that sees some Scots having to pay an average of nearly £19 extra when buying goods online. The problem does not just affect remote rural and island areas, but postcodes right across Scotland. It hits businesses as well as families.

Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland help hundreds of thousands of people with over half a million new issues each year. Snapshot uses evidence on these issues to act as an early warning system for government, service providers, and private sector companies, of where policies and practices are failing or inefficient. These monthly briefings use very recent evidence and are an excellent way of spotting trends to social policy and tracing the impact of recent policy changes.

This edition is based on the advice needs of over 15,000 clients who approached bureaux for advice in August 2012. These clients were better off by nearly £7.9m as a result of the advice that they recieved.

This briefing for MSPs outlines the importance of ensuring that the Scottish Government’s Welfare Reform (Further Provision) (Scotland) Bill provides the citizens of Scotland with access to passported benefits when current benefits are effectively abolished and replaced in 2013 by the new Universal Credit. 

CAS's submission to the Scottish Parliament Health & Sport Committee, which will be scrutinising the UK Welfare Reform Bill Legislative Consent Motion, gives detail on the impact of aspects of the bill to Scotland’s people, services and economy. In addition it sets out our arguments for the establishment of a Scottish Parliament Welfare and Benefits Committee and our position on the LCM.

Submission from Citizens Advice Scotland to the Local Government and Regeneration Committee Scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13