Public perceptions of Scotland’s CAB service – an independent survey

Citizens Advice Scotland has commissioned regular independent surveys over the past ten years to gauge perceptions of the CAB service.  The most recent survey was undertaken by Ipsos MORI Scotland between October 2005 and April 2006, with recent CAB clients interviewed in tandem with members of the general public.

These are some of the headline findings…

User satisfaction

• The majority (94%) of clients said they were satisfied with CAB service provision.
• Clients rate CAB very highly in relation to being able to ‘trust the confidential service’ (98%), its ‘quality service’ (97%), the information being ‘up-to-date and comprehensive’ (97%), the ‘professionalism, competency and efficiency of staff’ (97%), its provision of ‘advice, assistance and support across a range of issues’ (97%) and in ‘helping people get fair treatment’ (96%).
• The majority of clients (94%) would be ‘certain to/very likely to’ recommend the CAB to a friend or relative.
• Perceptions among the general public are also highly positive.  86% believe that CAB provide advice, assistance and support across a range of issues, help people to get fair treatment (84%), can be trusted (84%), has up to date information (76%), provides a quality service (74%) and has professional, competent and efficient staff (71%).
• Of those members of the public who had previously used a CAB - over 90% expressed satisfaction with the advice that they received (93%), the way in which they obtained it (95%), the customer service experience as a whole (93%) and the way they were treated by staff overall (96%).
• 42% of the public said they would be likely to use the CAB service in the future, compared to a third who would not.  The main reason given for people not using the CAB service is that they have never needed it (60%).  One in eight (12%) feel they would be able to either cope or solve their own problems and 7% would rely on friends and family.

Recognition

• The majority (85%) of recent CAB clients surveyed agreed with the statement that that Citizens Advice Bureau service is the ‘leading advice agency in Scotland’.
• Seven in ten (72%) adults among the general population spontaneously think of ‘Citizens Advice’, ‘Citizens Advice Bureaux’ or ‘CAB’ as the leading advice agency when asked to name a charity or organisation that provides advice and information.

Independence / Status

• A majority (57%) among the general public incorrectly think that CAB are not a local charity, compared with one in five (19%) who correctly think they are.  Half (49%) correctly disagree that CAB are part of the council, but one in four (26%) think they are.  A similar proportion (46%) correctly agrees that CAB are managed by community representatives.  Around three in ten incorrectly think (28%) that CAB are wholly funded by the Scottish Executive, while three in ten disagree (27%).

Reasons for contacting CAB

• Reasons cited for contacting CAB by recent clients are that they were recommended (31%) or they had used them previously (21%).  When asked to provide the single main reason, their provision of ‘helpful advice or information’ was the most commonly cited by over one in four (28%) clients.
• One in five (19%) adults within the general population questioned have also contacted a CAB in the last three years.

Influence

• Both CAB clients and the general public appear unsure about the major role the CAB service plays in influencing social policy.  The majority of clients (59%) agree that the CAB service influences government and other large organisations, but one in three (33%) are unsure.
• This reflects the opinion held by the general public, where one in four said they did not know what influence the CAB service has.  Clients are slightly less inclined to say they don’t know whether CAB are completely independent (15% versus 25%, general public).

What would make CAB better?

• Clients were also asked what they considered to be poor about the service they had recently received.  In the main, these tended to be ‘it took too long for my enquiry to be dealt with’ (6%), ‘opening hours’ (5%) and ‘waiting times’ (4%).
• Relatively few (4%) clients maintained that they had used the CAB online information service Adviceguide (http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/).  However, the majority of those who had (91%) regarded it as useful.  Of those who had never used it, over half (57%) maintained that they ‘didn’t know there was one’ while one in four (26%) cited the lack of ‘computer/IT access at home or work’ as the main reason.
• Having ‘a 24 hour telephone service’ (77%), ‘more convenient opening hours’ (76%) and ‘more appointments to reduce waiting times’ (74%) were the suggestions most commonly favoured.  The provision of ‘creche facilities’ was more likely to be regarded as not useful than useful (57% versus 41%).

See also CAS Press Release 16th August 2006.

The survey of CAB clients was conducted by telephone with 501 adults who had used the CAB service in the period October 2005 to April 2006, and who had consented to being questioned.

The survey of the general public was undertaken with a nationally representative sample of Scottish adults aged 16+ between 14th January and 5th March 2006.  This survey was conducted face-to-face in 1,064 people’s homes.  It formed part of MORI’s ‘Social Policy Monitor’, a quarterly research vehicle designed to collect regular and robust data on the characteristics and opinions of the Scottish population.