Citizens Advice

Origins

The origins of the modern Citizens Advice service can be traced back to the Betterton Report on Public Assistance from 1924. This report recommended that advice centres should be set up to offer members of the public advice to help them with their problems. During the 1930s, as preparations and plans were drawn up for the possibility of war, the role that the voluntary sector should have was determined. The National Council for Social Service (NCSS) called a meeting in 1938 in which plans to establish "Citizens Aid Bureaux" were devised in the event of war.

The first 200 bureaux opened on 4 September 1939, four days after World War II started. Many of these initial bureaux were run by "people of standing" in the community. In The Story of The Citizens' Advice Bureaux Brasnett states that the typical bureau would include "a committee chairman the editor of a respected county paper, as treasurer a local bank manager; and among the members the manager of the employment exchange, an estate agent who was able to lend part of a house for offices". Brasnett also describes a range of groups running provincial bureau including Toc H, Rotary Clubs and Soroptomist Clubs. Brasnett states in The Story of the Citizens' Advice Bureau that these first bureau were mainly offshoots of established organisations in London and other large provincial cities. These organisations included the Charity Organisation Society (now the Family Action) and the London Council of Social Service, the Liverpool Personal Service Society, the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service, the Birmingham Citizens' Society (now the Birmingham Council of Social Service). By 1942, there were 1,074 bureaux in a wide range of improvised offices such as cafes, church halls, private homes and air-raid shelters. Sheffield set up in the cloisters of Sheffield Cathedral after its premises were bombed during World War II and another bureau worked in Chislehurst Caves. Mobile offices also became important in ensuring that people could access advice. Many of the issues dealt with during that time were directly related to the war. These included the tracing of missing servicemen or prisoners of war, evacuations, pensions and other allowances. The Independent describes Citizens Advice at this time as "clearing houses for family and personal problems that abound from war conditions", with common issues being lost ration books and debt issues as men went off to fight in World War II.

Post-war history

Many war time bureaux closed at the end of the war, although it was apparent that there was still a need for the services that had been established. A particular problem was the chronic housing shortage in the years immediately following the end of the war. In the 1950s, the funding was cut and by 1960 there were only 415 bureaux. The Citizens Advice service continued due to charitable support from groups such as the Nuffield Foundation, Carnegie Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. In 1972, The Citizens Advice service became independent. Before then, the national organisation was part of NCSS (National Council of Social Services) and most bureaux were run by the local CVS (Council for Voluntary Service). In 1973, the government funded NACAB, the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, to enlarge the network. The 1984 afternoon television drama series Miracles Take Longer depicted the type of cases that a 1980s branch would have to deal with. David Harker became CEO in 1997. He led Citizens Advice until 2010 and during that time oversaw a massive IT overhaul.

Since 2003, the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux changed to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Cymru or Cyngor ar Bopeth in Wales. In the same year Citizens Advice became the first advice sector organisation to begin to audit the quality of their advice. In 2008/9, there were 416 member bureaux offering advice from over 3,300 locations in England and Wales and a further 22 bureaux in Northern Ireland all of which are independent charities. Despite the large number of volunteers working for the organisation, level of demand for the service often far outstrips resources. Citizens Advice has recently begun looking at ways to reach all members of the community through new mediums such as email advice and digital TV. Another initiative has been allowing university students to train as advisers to gain credits toward their degree. This was pioneered by a partnership between the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Citizens Advice Bureau and is also now available at Birmingham City University, University of Reading, University of Northampton, Glasgow Caledonian University, and University of Glasgow. Training as a Citizens Advice adviser can earn a person up to six months off a training contract if training as a solicitor.

Recent history

Gillian Guy became Chief Executive in 2010 and under her leadership a modernisation process took place which involved a rebrand of the Citizens Advice service and the introduction of new advice methods including webchat. She was succeeded by Clare Moriarty in April 2021.

At the start of Guy's tenure Citizens Advice faced a budget cut of 9% however finances have recently improved with the charity increasing its income from £62m to £77m between 2013 and 2015. This is largely a result of Citizens Advice taking over roles that were previously performed by the quangos the Office of Fair Trading and Consumer Futures. During 2012 and 2013 Citizens Advice adopted an Equality Strategy known as 'Stand Up For Equality' which aims to embed an equality agenda in all work Citizens Advice does. In 2014 Citizens Advice took over the role that Victim Support played in supporting court witnesses. This contract is worth £24m. This service was renamed the Witness Service. Also in 2014 Citizens Advice took over the role of Consumer Futures (previously Consumer Focus) which represents consumers of regulated industries (energy and the postal service). In 2015 Citizens Advice began to deliver Pension Wise guidance. In 2015 Citizens Advice adopted a rebrand dropping the 'Bureau' from its name. The rebrand cost £1 million which includes £215,000 for research and development, £450,000 in financial support to implement the changes and £300,000 to cover local costs such as posters and materials. The rebrand was criticised by Steve Johnson the chief executive officer of AdviceUK who described it as "facile". However, evidence from Citizens Advice focus groups found that while the charity was well known the brand was considered somewhat "tired" or "old fashioned".

In 2019–20, the organisation's revenues were £139.1 million.

In 2015 Citizens Advice piloted a webchat service allowing people to contact Citizens Advice advisers online both via online instant messenger service and via e-mail. Data from 2015 showed that 7% of all enquiries to Citizens Advice were through the webchat service and 80,000 webchat enquiries were answered.

The Citizens Advice service, both locally and nationally, also uses clients' problems as evidence to influence policy makers to review laws or administrative practices which cause undue difficulties to clients, in a process referred to as "Social Policy". At a national level Citizens Advice engages in policy research in order to recommend policy changes. Current research areas include mental health domestic abuse, problems in the private rented sector, welfare, work, pensions, energy policy and the postal service.

A public affairs team works to influence Government both in Westminster and the devolved institutions. There is also a Citizens Advice All-Party Parliamentary Group that provides a forum for Members of Parliament who are interested in the work of Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice produces constituency data that can be used by Parliamentarians to improve how they complete their own case work. Advice Trends data is published at a national and local level. Consumer Advice Trends data is also published as is data for Wales alone and data on the performance of energy suppliers and the postal service.