by Tara Smith, from the CAS Money Talk project.

This article was first published in The Herald on 28 March 2026.

Last month Citizens Advice Scotland’s Money Talk Team (MTT) received the news that for the first time ever we are to get a multi-year funding grant from the Scottish Government.   

Any charity will tell you this is an absolute gamechanger in terms of how it operates. A multi-year grant allows you to plan much more effectively and concentrate on delivering your service without having to worry if it will still exist next year. So this news was a tremendous boost, and a real sign of confidence in our work. By providing specialist money advice, delivered in a friendly empathic manner, we put money into the pockets of vulnerable people, e.g. by unlocking social security, renegotiating debt or accessing grants they were entitled to but unaware of.

But taking the first step towards help when you’re struggling can hard for people, especially when it comes to money. So increasing the visibility and accessibility of the service is a priority. 

And one of the ways we do this is by seeking partnerships with other organisations, to take our advice out of the CABs and make sure it reaches as many people as possible.  

For example, MTT advisers may attend a meeting of a single-parent support group in their community, or a pensioners’ forum. So they’re meeting people in a space where people feel comfortable and are therefore more likely to talk about their financial worries. 

Building partnerships also means other organisations will refer people to us. Like Katja, a single parent with four children, who struggles with both mental and physical health challenges. Her family were being supported by a children’s charity, who referred Katja to her local CAB. While the charity continued to advocate for the family, an MTT adviser was able to address their financial challenges, helping Katja to access social security of over £30,000 a year. 

Partnership working can also help overcome barriers of physical accessibility. Transport costs in rural Scotland also mean that accessing services there can be challenging, especially for those with limited mobility. A weekly MTT outreach at a local church or library makes advice more accessible to people living rurally, where problems like fuel poverty are often intensified. When we speak to partners about how working with the local CAB benefits their communities they point to the provision of wrap-around care, building local knowledge and improving accessibility for ‘hard to reach’ families. 

It also means that services can focus on what they do best. For example, NHS partners in both Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire have told us how referring families to us ensured they received specialist financial support while allowing the NHS teams to focus on health and wellbeing.  What is common throughout these conversations is the understanding that demand for advice and support is increasing. Partners tell us that our advice ‘literally save lives’. 

That is why services like MTT are so vital, and is why the government has recognised both the need for and the quality of our work.   

If your organisation could benefit from working in partnership with MTT, either locally or nationally, please contact [email protected].