Public

A new report from the respected Fraser of Allander Institute highlights that Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland contributed a total benefit to the common good in Scotland of £168.7 million in the financial year 2013/14. 

This briefing focuses on the impact of the Bedroom Tax on citizens advice bureaux and clients in its first eight months and calls for some client groups to be exempted completely rather than helped through the short-term solution of Discretionary Housing Payments.

CAS has submitted a response to the Scottish Government's draft Community Energy Policy Statement for public consultation.

CAS welcomes the potential benefits of community energy and recommend that the Scottish Government applies key consumer principles, which are outlined in our response, to ensure that the benefits of community energy projects are consistent and accessible.

The Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP) was established in 2010 to be a focal point for the Armed Forces Community (AFC) in Scotland for access to advice, information and support, while working closely with key partner organisations to ensure that clients receive the most appropriate support.

This report provides an update to the findings of the Civvy Street: The New Frontline report which was published in 2012. The report examined the advice needs of members of the Armed Forces Community, looking at whether and how they differed from those of the average citizens advice bureau client. The report found that while the advice needs of veterans did not differ considerably from those of the average client, it was the complexity and severity of these problems that marked them as different.

Two years on, this report examines whether the recent trends in advice need, such as payday loans and food parcels, have affected veterans and whether their support needs have changed.

CAS has submitted a response to the EU’s consultation on policy options to optimise water reuse in the EU. CAS’s response highlights the need to combine regulatory and non-regulatory measures in order to increase levels of water reuse across the EU, including action to raise awareness about the benefits of water reuse.

CAS responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011: Registration, Charging, Risk designation and associated aspects.  CAS generally welcomed the proposals in the consultation which will help to provide communities with greater protection against the risk of flooding from reservoirs. CAS highlighted that would help to protect communities, and minimise the risks of businesses and consumers facing significant remedial and clean-up costs as a result of any damage caused by flooding from reservoirs.

Based on evidence from bureaux, CAS has consistently raised concerns over misuse of zero hours contracts by employers. The UK Government proposes to ban exclusivity clause in zero hours contracts as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, and consulted on how avoidance of the ban could be tackled.