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Following our earlier consultation, we are pleased to launch our Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland work plan for 2016/17, covering our work in energy, post and water.

CAS response on notification of the latest change proposals to the Market and Operational Code:

MCCP190 - Performance Standard Amendments

MCCP191 – Vacancy Definition

MCCP193 - Change to the Gap Site Letter Process

The Benefit Sanctions Regime (Entitlement to Hardship Payments) Bill is a Private Members' Bill introduced by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP. It would ensure that hardship payments are available to claimants who have had their benefit sanctioned from day one of a sanction period, and that such payments would be made automatically.

In-work progression support provided should be appropriate to an individual claimant’s circumstances. Support should aim to help claimants find a job that is better suited to their skills, experience, ambitions and individual requirements. It should not merely consist of setting targets to apply for a particular number of jobs each week, without regard to suitability or quality. If mandatory requirements are set, caution should be taken that they are reasonable and appropriate.

CAS is concerned that the increase in the number of complaints about public sector services received by SPSO, coupled with limited resources available to SPSO to respond to these complaints could detrimentally impact consumers receiving adequate and timely access to redress.

CAS would support a move by the Scottish Government to review the issues SPSO has raised within its Draft Strategic Workplan to identify ways of protecting the quality of administrative justice available to the general public and allowing SPSO to continue to drive complaints handling best practice and ownership of improving services within public bodies.

The CAB service has a unique role in Scotland. No other charity offers direct help to so many people over such a wide variety of problems and across the whole of Scotland. Our on-the-ground experience and extensive evidence base puts us in an ideal position to set out a vision for how Scotland should use its new social security powers.

Advice in Scotland 2014/15 is Citizens Advice Scotland’s state of the nation report on the problems that people are experiencing across the country. 

The Scotland Bill intends to give the Scottish Parliament legislative competence over provision of financial assistance for the type of payments currently provided by the Regulated Social Fund. This will include provision to make provision for the Cold Weather Payment (CWP) and Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), including conditions of entitlement or to replace these benefits entirely. This report sets out CAB evidence and recommendations for how the new powers should be used.

Powers over certain elements of Universal Credit will be devolved to Scotland. This report sets the findings of a survey of CAB clients on how they currently budget and would prefer to receive payments, and makes recommendations for how the new devolved powers could be used.