Public

CAS financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2016.

The Consumer Futures Unit is publishing a series of briefing sheets that draw together evidence and recommendations on issues relevant to energy, post and water consumers in Scotland. This briefing gives an overview of consumer issues in relation to postal services in rural areas, and was first used at the CFU's Rural Futures Conference in 2017. 

The Consumer Futures Unit is publishing a series of briefing sheets that draw together evidence and recommendations on issues relevant to energy, post and water consumers in Scotland. This briefing gives an overview of consumer issues in relation to rural fuel poverty, and was first used at the CFU's Rural Futures Conference in 2017. 

Each November, an annual drive to collect profile information on all clients approaching Bureaux for advice - this report covers some of the findings from the 2015 exercise.

During 2015/16 Citizens Advice Bureaux supported over 260,000 clients across Scotland with over 910,000 advice needs, none of which could have been achieved without the almost 2,400 volunteers and 1,000 paid staff.  If standard opening hours are used as a benchmark, that would imply that one advice query is dealt with every 19 seconds!  

The 'Advice in Scotland 2015-16' report provides all the detail, while the briefing paper covers the highlights.

Scotland’s CAB network provides a substantial amount of advice relating to problems at work. In 2015/16, citizens advice bureaux in Scotland advised clients on 48,530 new employment issues. 

Examples of unfair employment practices that have affected CAB clients include unfair dismissal; not being paid for work carried out; being paid considerably below the National Minimum Wage; being denied sick pay or paid holiday; and instances of bullying and discrimination including racism, and women who were dismissed when they became pregnant.

Scotland’s food and drink industry is one of the best in the world but some consumers in Scotland are getting a raw deal and facing poor quality produce and service by some leading food retailers and manufacturers.

Following our Round the Bend report we invited policy experts in public transport, consumer organisations, government officials and community representatives to discuss the issues facing rural communities and public transport.

The emergence of so-called new forms of employment relationships between
workers and employers has put a strain on existing employment protections. In
particular, the misuse of zero hours contracts has been a major concern for CAS over the past three years.