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Publication date:August 2016
The final report by Deloitte about the governance review conducted in 2016.
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Publication date:August 2016
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CAB Clients in CrisisPublication date:July 2016On-going analysis of CAB case evidence over the last four years has shown that more and more bureaux clients are experiencing periods of no income, and are unable to afford essentials including food, gas and electricity to heat their homes, as well as priority payments such as rent. More worryingly still are the number of clients who present at bureaux having not eaten in a number of days.
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A consumers guide to avoiding the latest financial scamsPublication date:July 2016This consumer guide provides information on the latest financial scams the Citizens Advice service in Scotland has seen and how to spot the signs of a scam
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Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland annual report for 2015-16Publication date:June 2016This report looks back to describe the work Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) carried out to represent consumers in 2015-16. This was a year of laying foundations, as our organisations developed our roles representing consumers in the energy and postal markets in England, Wales and Scotland, and in the energy, postal and water markets in Scotland.
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Delivering energy efficiency to rural, off-gas ScotlandPublication date:June 2016Mains gas is the cheapest way to heat a home but 23% of Scottish households rely on more expensive fuel types, such as bottled gas or electricity, to heat their property. Many off-gas households are located in rural areas and are vulnerable to fuel poverty owing to a number of additional factors, such as a greater prevalence of colder properties which are harder to treat with energy efficiency measures.
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A review of energy efficiency and fuel poverty schemes in ScotlandPublication date:June 2016The Scottish Government have announced that they will introduce Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) in the coming years. This scheme will make use of the new powers over energy efficiency funds. Given the current political interest and potential levels of investment, CAS believes that it is important to ensure that the impacts resulting from undertaking large-scale energy efficiency installations are fully understood.
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Taking stock of the smart meter rollout programme in ScotlandPublication date:June 2016The roll out of smart meters to UK gas and electricity consumers is to be completed by 2020, updating the country’s energy infrastructure and offering a number of benefits to consumers. However there is a risk that where people live, the type of home they live in and how they pay for their energy may affect when they receive a smart meter, and what kind they will be offered.
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"Measures to ensure the Scottish water and sewerage non-household retail market work well"Publication date:June 2016The Consumer Futures Unit's response to the Commission's consultation seeking views on measures to ensure the Scottish water and sewerage non-household retail market
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CAS written evidencePublication date:June 2016
If conditionality is to be used within the benefit system, CAS believes it must be part of a holistic system that supports, rather than compels, jobseekers into sustainable employment. Sanctions should be always proportionate to the “offence” and should be operated as a last resort to ensure that claimants are seeking employment in exchange for their benefit.
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A review of local bus provision by Scottish Citizens Advice BureauxPublication date:June 2016In 2015 Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) published a report, Remotely Excluded, which used our advice statistics to identify the major issues facing consumers in rural Scotland. One of the most important themes identified by Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) and our clients was the difficulty people had accessing essential services, such as healthcare and work opportunities, using the bus network. To look more closely at what was happening with public transport across Scotland we carried out regional research lead by 16 of our local CAB members.
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Early Evidence of the Impact of Universal Credit in Scotland's CAB NetworkPublication date:June 2016This report presents many of the Universal Credit cases that Scotland’s CAB network has advised on during the first year of the rollout. At this stage, it is a only a small fraction of the people who will eventually receive Universal Credit – single jobseekers with ‘simple’ claims. However, the evidence allows us to start to identify some of the challenges that may stand in the way of the success of Universal Credit and to make recommendations for how these obstacles can be overcome. These challenges fall into three groups – design challenges, transitional and administrative challenges and future challenges.
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Briefing for Scottish Parliament debate - 9 June 2016Publication date:June 2016This briefing focuses on the opportunities that the devolution of social security powers to Scotland with a particular focus on disability benefits – it is the chance to design a system that has the principles of dignity and respect at its heart. The following pages outline the challenges and issues that the Parliament needs to address to make this system a reality.
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Briefing for MSPs - Scottish Parliament debate 2 June 2016Publication date:June 2016This briefing focuses on the opportunities that the devolution of social security powers offers to Scotland – it is the chance to design a system that has the principles of dignity and respect at its heart. The following pages outline the challenges and issues that the parliament needs to address to make this system a reality.
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Publication date:May 2016
A third of CAB clients find themselves digitally excluded, according to new research.
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Publication date:May 2016
CAS response to Scottish Government response to the Report of Working Group on Consumer and Competition Policy for Scotland.
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UK Parliament Work and Pensions CommitteePublication date:May 2016Citizens Advice Scotland is extremely concerned about the potential negative impact of the abolition of the ESA Work Related Activity component. The removal of support for the additional costs faced by disabled people through this component could have the effect of creating additional barriers to them gaining employment. The majority of people affected by the move are far from the labour market, with 73% of Scottish claimants in the ESA Work Related Activity Group having been in receipt of the benefit for more than two years, and in some cases will never be fit for work again.
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Publication date:May 2016
CAS financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2015.
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Publication date:May 2016
CAS financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2016.
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CAB Client Profile Report: Issue 3Publication date:April 2016
In this edition of the ‘Who Are You?’ series we take a look at those who came to CAB service points during November 2015. Information was collected on almost 17,000 clients, which is an increase in reporting of 6% from our first client profile data collection in 2014. In learning from the pilot phase of this work, a more accurate measure of comparison between the client profile and all clients seen in November has been developed. This indicates that the profile captures approximately 74% of all clients seen in November 2015, an increase of 6% from the proportion seen in 2014.
As with all surveys of this type not all clients wished to answer all questions; it is also not always appropriate to ask for such information. Because of this it is not possible to report on every category, but our analysis shows that comparison with the client profile data from 2014/15 is consistent and the data collected is robust enough to compare with the 2011 Census.
Stressed About Debt? High costs of energy, food and fuel mean that many people are finding it impossible to keep up, worrying about debt or falling behind on bills. The Citizens Advice network in Scotland is here for you, with free, confidential and impartial advice in a variety of ways.