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The Housing (Scotland) Bill is proposed to make a number of changes to the law affecting both social and private rental housing. Based on the experiences of CAB clients, CAS submitted written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Committee examining the Bill.

National statistics show that more than half of the people living in relative poverty in the UK live in a household where at least one person works.

CAS have submitted evidence to the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee on the Housing (Scotland) Bill.

 Citizens Advice Scotland broadly supports the Bill as introduced, but has some recommendations for areas where it could be strengthened or clarified.

The Scottish Government is consulting on a draft Bill, the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill, which would make the Scottish Welfare Fund a permanent, statutory scheme.  This consultation focuses on the contents of the Bill and arrangements for second tier review.

Citizens Advice Scotland responds to The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s interim report of their inquiry into spreading the benefits of digital participation.

Advice in Detail: Energy looks at the energy related issues which people brought to the Scottish CAB Service in 2012/13.  The report, based on evidence from citizens advice bureaux and the Citizens Advice consumer service, shows that consumers continue to face many and varied problems with their energy, from high costs to poor selling practices.  The report also demonstrates the value of CAB advice, with the financial gain for clients reaching almost a quarter of a million pounds in 2012/13 – up 15% from the previous year. 

CAS has submitted detailed evidence to the Government-commissioned Independent Review of Sanctions.

Overall, 2012/13 has been another impressive year for CAS. We have faced many challenges, but have responded by being more active, delivering more funding and infrastructure support to bureaux and raising our campaigning and media profile. Together with our member bureaux, we believe we make the vital difference as the last line of support for many thousands of people across Scotland in these immensely difficult times.

This briefing was provided for a Scottish Parliament members debate on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Plans to Regulate the Payday Loan Industry. Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland deal with 100 cases every week regarding problems with payday loan debt. CAS have made a number of recommendations that we believe will help alleviate the biggest issues clients are seeking advice on.

CAS has responded to the Financial Services Authority consultation on consumer credit.