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Publications

  1. Publication date:
    May 2024

    An evaluation of the "Stressed About Debt?" campaign, which ran from February 2024 until the start of April 2024. 

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  2. Publication date:
    April 2024

    An evaluation of the Worried This Winter? energy support campaign, which ran from November 2023 until the end of January 2024. 

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  3. A CAS consultation response
    Publication date:
    February 2024
  4. Publication date:
    August 2023

    CAS has responded to the Finance and Public Administration Committee's call for views on the sustainability of Scotland's finances.

    To read our response, download here.

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  5. Publication date:
    July 2023

    An evaluation of the Debt Happens campaign, which ran in Spring 2023. 

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  6. Publication date:
    May 2023

    This briefing considers how the CAB network in Scotland can help deliver a world leading Community Wealth Building agenda in Scotland. 

  7. Publication date:
    February 2023
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  8. Lesley Sweetman
    Publication date:
    July 2022

    This research report looks at the private rented sector in Argyll and Bute and was made possible through the award of Small Impact Grant from Citizens Advice Scotland and delivered in-house by bureau staff. 

    Scoping this work, the bureau had two overarching objectives:

    -   to raise awareness of freely available advice and support to tenants, as all too often tenants are unaware of their rights or approach the bureau only at the stage when they are potentially facing eviction;

    and,

    -   to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing private rental tenants in the area which also has a thriving and important tourism sector.

    Through a mix of print, radio and digital promotion, an estimated 20,000 people were reached, helping to raise awareness of the bureau and the advice and support available on a wide range of everyday issues facing local people including advice on housing, debt, employment and welfare.

    Central to this research was a private sector rental survey which was designed to capture the views of those currently renting in that sector, as well as those looking for a private rental in the area.  Completing the survey in full, 155 people shared their views and experiences.  Focus groups followed and provided further opportunity to gain deeper insight into private rental experience. 

    Delivering this report comes at a time of significant and potential change in the private and short term rentals sectors in Scotland.  The report seeks to provide useful insight into the private rental sector in Argyll and Bute, the challenges private sector renters face, and how closely aligned economic prosperity and the availability of safe, secure, warm and affordable homes are to the area.  

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  9. Publication date:
    April 2022

     

     

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  10. Publication date:
    September 2021

    Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) gathers evidence from the more than 171,000 clients a year supported by our network. Many of the problems faced by our clients are rooted in or linked to their incomes not being enough to meet their needs and live a dignified life. For many people coming to see us they simply do not have enough money to make ends meet: YouGov in May of this year indicated 1 in 7 Scots is struggling on their present income even with the temporary financial support measures put in place as a result of the pandemic. In fact, 56% or half a million pieces of advice provided by our network every year can be attributed to income maximisation. During the pandemic CABs unlocked £147million for people through things like social security payments, employment entitlements and lower bills for utilities. A Minimum Income Guarantee would mean the Citizens Advice network could ensure people have even more security and opportunity.

    This evidence base, from over 80 years as Scotland’s largest free, impartial and confidential advice network, gives CAS a unique understanding of the issues that IPPR proposes could be addressed by a Minimum Income Guarantee. In addition, our experience supporting clients over the course of the pandemic shows that even those who were coping before the crisis still found themselves vulnerable if their income dropped or costs went up even slightly.

  11. Andrew Fraser
    Publication date:
    June 2021

    The Stronger Communities team has responded to Ofcom's call for inputs on it's review of postal regulation from 2022 onwards. 

    As the statutory advocate for postal consumers in Scotland, CAS believes that there are particular issues that need to be addressed during the review period that are affecting consumers and SMEs. This includes the affordability of services, the quality of service and the impact of location-based surcharging and refusal to deliver in the parcel market. 

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  12. Debbie Horne
    Publication date:
    November 2020

    CAS produced this data briefing alongside a policy briefing calling for the £20 a week increase to Universal Credit to be made permanent.

  13. Publication date:
    June 2020

    This submission addresses issues of low pay and employment practices.

  14. Rebecca King
    Publication date:
    May 2020

    CAS welcomes the opportunity to feed into the work of the Scottish Government's Advisory Group on Economic Recovery. Central to our view of how to stimulate economic growth post-COVID-19 is the principle of protecting household incomes and helping with the cost of living. 

  15. CAS supports principles of single enforcement body but warns it must be adequately resourced and resist centralisation
    Nina Ballantyne
    Publication date:
    January 2020

    Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland dealt with over 40,000 employment issues in 2018-19 alone, and recorded more than 300 detailed case studies related to employment. Employment advice is consistently one of our top five advice areas, and the advice categories “terms and conditions” and “pay and entitlements” are the most commonly recorded client inquiries. Between, 2016-17 and 2017-18, employment issues related to terms and conditions, and pay and entitlements grew slightly as a proportion of all employment issues we dealt with.  This Citizens Advice Scotland response is based on our previous research in this area and analysis of detailed case studies submitted by frontline advisers between April 2018 and September 2019[i].

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  16. CAS calls for better notice of shifts and shift cancellation
    Nina Ballantyne
    Publication date:
    January 2020

    Citizens Advice Scotland is publishing its response to a UK Government "Good Work Plan" consultation. This consultation looked at unfair one-sided flexible working practices, where the employer expects the worker to be flexible and respond to shift changes with no or little notice, while not reciprocating. In this response, CAS provides examples of workers suffering detriment as a result of one-sided flexibility and makes recommendations to address this.

  17. Low Pay Commission consultation
    Rob Gowans
    Publication date:
    June 2019

    Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation. In 2017-18, Scotland’s CAB network advised clients on a total of 47,254 issues related to employment. Of those, the largest proportion related to Pay and Entitlements (13,697), with Scottish CAB advising clients on 454 issues specifically related to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.

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  18. CAS responds to new Commission's call for evidence
    Jamie Stewart
    Publication date:
    May 2019

    The Scottish Government has established the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland to provide independent, informed advice on the creation of a 30-year infrastructure strategy to meet the country’s future economic growth and societal needs. To support this, the Commission issued a call for evidence

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  19. Scottish Parliament Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee Inquiry
    Rob Gowans
    Publication date:
    September 2018

    CAS supported the devolution of employment programmes, as it represents the opportunity to provide schemes that more effectively support long-term unemployed people into work, based on the positive employability programmes already existing in Scotland.

  20. CAB Clients in Crisis
    Rhiannon Sims
    Publication date:
    July 2016

    On-going analysis of CAB case evidence over the last four years has shown that more and more bureaux clients are experiencing periods of no income, and are unable to afford essentials including food, gas and electricity to heat their homes, as well as priority payments such as rent. More worryingly still are the number of clients who present at bureaux having not eaten in a number of days. 

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