RYEDALE CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU Presentation to Ryedale District - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

RYEDALE CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

Presentation to Ryedale District Presentation to Ryedale District Council

Janet Sharp – Chair of Trustee Board David Brown – Treasurer and Trustee Sue Bywater – Chief Officer

OBJECTIVES

To inform Members of RDC about the work of Ryedale CAB To demonstrate the benefits to RDC our service brings to the community service brings to the community To illustrate how we envisage our future

Who We Are

Ryedale CAB has been established for over 30 years We are part of the national Citizens Advice network which sets standards for excellence network which sets standards for excellence We are primarily staffed by volunteers from the local community with 8 part time paid employees

The Work We Do

We provide advice free to the citizens of Ryedale District on a wide range of social issues We provide specialist advice and advocacy and We provide specialist advice and advocacy and follow-up appointments for

Housing Welfare Benefits Money Advice

Service Delivery

We offer drop-in sessions at

Harrison House, Norton – 3 sessions per week Pickering Library – 1 session per week

We are part of the Advice Line network via a We are part of the Advice Line network via a rota taking calls on a national basis 3 sessions per week We offer specialist appointments

Client Numbers

covering period April 2014-March 2015

Clients Numberof Issues 1,868 5,479 Numberof Issues Client Contacts Enquiries 5,479 2,121 8,234

1948 160 145 125 102 83 766

Client Issue Breakdown

Benefits Debt Employment Housing Family & Relationships

1101 468 336 245 160

Legal Utilities Consumer Financial Services Immigration Other

Client Issues for top 10 Wards

980 188 241 165 152 124

Malton Norton East Norton West Pickering West Pickering East

The top ten Wards account for 72% of clients seen

923 612 307 282

Pickering East Kirkbymoorside Derwent Helmsley Rillington Amotherby

Financial Outcomes Financial Year 2014-15

Income Gains £2,4000,00 Debts Written Off £259,243 Debts Written Off £259,243 Repayments Rescheduled £5,248

Outcomes

0% 1% 6% 0% 13% 0% 1% 0% 2%

Benefits & tax credits Consumer goods & services Debt Education

49% 1% 26% 0% 0% 1% 0%

Employment Financial services & capability Health & community care Housing Immigration & asylum

Gains for Clients £s

8,213.49 223,500.00 29,777.65 12,049.81 47,479.08 6,034.32 Rent Arrears Mortgage Arrears Council tax Debt Utilities 18,807.88 254,923.50 4,629.78 1,944.00 586,444.09 Utilities Benefits Tax/NI Fines NP Debt Employment Housing Benefit Overpayments Council Tax Overpayments

PARTNERSHIPS

RDC – Housing options team Stonham tenancy support Community mental health team Children’s centre Children’s centre Ryedale jobcentre plus Ryedale foodbank Member of Parliament

Housing

Our success in this area derives from: Streamlining emergency housing referrals Prioritising emergencies Pre-court preparation prior to referral to duty Pre-court preparation prior to referral to duty desk Priority applications by charity worker to reduce arrear levels prior to court Post emergency client care and follow up

Charity Worker

Funded from Core – cost £8K p/a Accesses small sums on behalf of client for Rent Arrears Council Tax Arrears

Other Activities

Council Tax Arrears Utilities Small Household items

Fighting Chance Project

Funded by Awards for All £10K over 10 months of project Improving life chances for 18-24 age group CV writing CV writing Interview techniques Gateway to further training

Case Studies

Alison, rural isolation, mental health

• problems. Single parent of teenage son, has

benefit, housing and ongoing health issues. Client, 82 years old, living in a rural isolation. Client, 82 years old, living in a rural isolation. Challenging high and very complex fuel bills. Intervention by MP.

Bureau Income

Financial Year 2014-15

Ryedale District Council £83000 23% North Yorkshire County Council £24000 6.5% County Council Grants from other sources £24000 6.5%

Funding Applications

Financial Year -2015/16 (to date)

Burden Trust - £6k – pending Inman Charity - £20k – pending Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust - £5k – successful Lloyds Invest - £71k – invited to resubmit Lloyds Invest - £71k – invited to resubmit Big Lottery – £350k (5 years) Henry Smith Charity – Draft Over the last 4 years we have successfully

• btained £149K

Savings

In order to manage our budget for the current financial year we have:

Reduced staff hours Relet our IT maintenance contract Relet our IT maintenance contract Reduced Audit costs

We constantly review our finances to identify further efficiency savings

Going Forward

We envisage that in the future we will be able to sustain services through Big Lottery and other sources Ryedale CAB and RDC communicate on a Ryedale CAB and RDC communicate on a regular basis Initial provision of £35k to be reduced upon

• ur success at obtaining other funding

Funding for 2015/16

Without the proposed additional funding from RDC for the current financial year we will be unable to survive beyond September of this year

QUESTIONS