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Publications

  1. JC
    Publication date:
    February 2013

    A short briefing on the work of the citizens advice service in Scotland.

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  2. Sarah Beattie-Smith
    Publication date:
    February 2013

    In November 2012, the UK Government launched its Government Digital Strategy . This paper sets out how the Government will transform the way it delivers services to citizens, including moving services online – a change in ethos to “digital by default”. Citizens Advice Scotland is concerned that a digital by default approach to welfare benefits could exclude some of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society from accessing the very services they rely upon.

  3. Publication date:
    February 2013

    Based on the responses from bureau advisers to the recent Social Policy questionnaire, the Policy and Communications team have put together a forward work plan for 2013/14. This covers the issues that we plan to address over the coming year and the ways in which we plan to undertake this work.

  4. Publication date:
    February 2013

    In April 2013, the general consumer advocacy functions of Consumer Focus and the Office of Fair Trading’s responsibility for consumer-facing education will both transfer to the Citizens Advice service. This is part of an on-going series of reforms to the consumer landscape in which the Government intends for the Citizens Advice service to become the publicly-funded voice for consumers.

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  5. Sarah Beattie-Smith
    Publication date:
    February 2013

    Citizens Advice Scotland welcomes the initiative from the Scottish branch of the Trading Standards Institute to address the problem of cold calling for the purposes of property maintenance and repairs.  This briefing uses the evidence from the Citizens Advice Consumer Service helpline to demonstrate the consumer detriment caused by such practices.

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  6. Lauren Wood
    Publication date:
    February 2013

    The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee launched an enquiry into the issue of underemployment which CAS and Norma Philpott (Chief Executive of CARF) were invited to provide oral evidence to on the 23rd January.  This written evidence followed the oral session, reinforcing the arguments made on the day.

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  7. Publication date:
    January 2013

    In April 2012, changes to the number of working hours that couples must work to be eligible for Working Tax Credit affected thousands of families in Scotland. Around 11,770 families, with over 23,500 children, faced losing their Working Tax Credit payments (worth an average of £2,600 per year) if they could not increase their working hours to at least 24 hours per week. Case evidence from bureaux and other sources suggest that claimants have struggled to increase their working hours in the middle of a double dip recession. The outcome of this change is therefore likely to be that thousands of low income families in Scotland have lost millions of pounds of support.

  8. Citizens Advice Scotland briefing for MPs
    Publication date:
    January 2013

    Background

    The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill was announced following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in December. It will introduce a cap of 1% for three years from 2013/14 on most working-age benefits and tax credits.  MPs debate the Bill on Monday 21st January 2013.

  9. Keith Dryburgh
    Publication date:
    January 2013

    Evidence from bureaux shows that welfare changes are driving an increased demand for benefits advice across the country, with a knock-on effect on the ability of bureaux to be able to help their clients. As the welfare reform agenda gathers pace in 2013, we expect demand for benefit advice to increase further.

  10. Energy issues brought to citizens advice bureaux in 2011/12
    Sarah Beattie-Smith
    Publication date:
    January 2013

    This report examines the types of issues on which clients sought advice with regards to their household energy in 2011/12. It also examines the client profile of people seeking help on such issues, thus allowing support to be targeted at the groups where it is most needed.

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  11. Publication date:
    December 2012

    Citizens Advice Scotland's response to the Scottish Court Services consultation on the future of Scotland's Court services.

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  12. How some online retailers are disadvantaging Scottish consumers
    Sarah Beattie-Smith
    Publication date:
    December 2012

    Over 1 million Scots are being ‘routinely ripped off’ by unfair delivery charges because of where they live, according to new evidence published by Citizens Advice Scotland.

    By analysing over 3,000 customer complaints and over 500 online companies, we have uncovered a ‘postcode penalty’ that sees some Scots having to pay an average of nearly £19 extra when buying goods online. The problem does not just affect remote rural and island areas, but postcodes right across Scotland. It hits businesses as well as families.

  13. Keith Dryburgh
    Publication date:
    December 2012

    As welfare changes begin to affect people across the country, Citizens Advice Scotland is producing briefings outlining their impact on people across Scotland in our Voices from the Frontline series. This briefing looks at the changes to Local Housing Allowance which significantly affected 4,400 claimants aged 25 to 35 across Scotland earlier in 2012.

  14. Lyndsay Russell
    Publication date:
    December 2012

    This report presents the evaluation findings from the Energy Best Deal+ pilot project. The project was a result of the Fuel Poverty Summit in Scotland in October 2011 and coordinated by Citizens Advice Scotland and funded by Eon, EDF Energy, Npower Scottish Gas, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy. The pilot ran for eight weeks from July to September 2012 from nine Scottish citizens advice bureaux.

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  15. Keith Dryburgh
    Publication date:
    November 2012

    Payday loans are increasingly becoming a significant area of advice need at citizens advice bureaux, particularly amongst younger clients who are in employment. While this form of credit may meet the needs of some customers who experience difficulties accessing mainstream credit, bureaux report that many customers have experienced financial difficulties as a result of poor policies and practices in the industry.

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  16. The financial benefits of advice provision - the example of the Citizens Advice Service in Scotland
    Publication date:
    November 2012

    The Fraser of Allander Institute, on behalf of Citizens Advice Scotland, has published a study on the economic benefits of the Citizens Advice Service in Scotland.

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  17. Jeanette Campbell
    Publication date:
    November 2012

    A response to the Scottish Government's consultation on the Procurement Reform Bill.

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  18. Lauren Wood
    Publication date:
    October 2012

    A briefing sent to MSPs ahead of the Stage 1 Perliamentary debate on the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Bill.

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  19. Publication date:
    October 2012

    Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland help hundreds of thousands of people with over half a million new issues each year. Snapshot uses evidence on these issues to act as an early warning system for government, service providers, and private sector companies, of where policies and practices are failing or inefficient. These monthly briefings use very recent evidence and are an excellent way of spotting trends to social policy and tracing the impact of recent policy changes.

    This edition is based on the advice needs of over 15,000 clients who approached bureaux for advice in August 2012. These clients were better off by nearly £7.9m as a result of the advice that they recieved.

  20. Keith Dryburgh
    Publication date:
    October 2012

    As welfare changes begin to affect people across the country, Citizens Advice Scotland is producing briefings outlining their impact on people across Scotland in our Voices from the Frontline series. This briefing looks at the increasing number of sanctions that have been applied to jobseekers in the past two years and the effects that they have had on claimants.

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