Annual Report 2004-05
Giving Advice For 30 Years!
North East Derbyshire Citizens Advice Bureau has been offering advice, support and advocacy to the people and communities of North East Derbyshire for 30 years.
The bureau had humble beginnings in the town of Clay Cross operating from one tiny room which had to provide a waiting area, a research area and interview space.
Who would have predicted the expansion of the bureau, which now has spacious accommodation in Clay Cross, extension bureau in Eckington and Dronfield and provides sessions in Renishaw, Killamarsh, GP surgeries, community centres and home visits for the housebound.
There is a full time paid workforce of 16 and a volunteer staff of 20. It is no mean feat to keep all the sessions open each week but one that is achieved year on year.
Read this report to find out what it is like on the front line!
A Volunteer’s Tale
I am a volunteer adviser and have been for some time. I trained under the competences scheme and am proud to say that I have a certificate in advice work.
I start my "shift" at about 9.30 - 9.45. After checking the message book and the diary, there is usually enough time to make a quick cup of coffee before the waiting room starts filling up and the phone rings. My first client has multiple debt problems. I check which of these are priorities and contact the creditors to explain our involvement. These typically would be utility companies, the local authority about rent and council tax or a mortgage provider if there are arrears. I also take the details of all the non-priority debts and start a debt pack. The case will then be referred to one of our debt specialists for further advice.
Next, I take a phone call from a woman who is wondering whether to increase her hours at work or not. I ask her about her circumstances and, using our benefit package on the computer, complete a "better off" calculation for her and send her a copy.
After another quick coffee I see a family who have received notification that they have been overpaid tax credits. The whole amount has to be repaid, as a result they will not receive any tax credits from now on even though they should be entitled to some. I note from the social policy notice board that Citizens Advice require evidence about tax credits and so when I have finished writing up my case notes I complete a social policy form to be sent to regional office.
I see another couple of cases before my "shift" finishes and manage to get away from the bureau by about 3 o'clock, another tiring but satisfying day over. However I will be back again later on as I am also on the management committee and we have a meeting scheduled.
An Office Manager’s Tale
I am responsible for all the administration work of the bureau and make sure that all the office systems work effectively to support the team.
On a daily basis I word process, file, photocopy, frank mail, deal with incoming post, enter caseworkers key dates in the diary, order stationery supplies and balance the petty cash. Then it's lunchtime!
All the statistical information that we gather from clients, for example, ages, households, gender etc. has to be entered on our case management system, CASE, so that Citizens Advice can produce national figures on the types of cases and clients that are helped each year. To that end, I input all the data from all of our outlets in Dronfield, Eckington, Renishaw, Killamarsh, Bolsover and Clay Cross. Quite a time consuming task!
The work I perform is varied, rewarding, demanding and helps make a difference to the people in our community.
A Session Supervisor’s Tale
I am a session supervisor and run sessions at our main bureau. Colleagues perform the same tasks at our extension bureaux.
I open up the waiting room, point out messages etc. to the team of the day and, most importantly, order the lunchtime sandwiches!
Then the business of the day begins. The administration line is operated from the duty desk and the phone begins to ring in earnest. Firstly I take a call from someone requesting an appointment to see one of our specialist advisers. Next a call comes for the manager. It concerns a funding application that we are pursuing. A few moments later another call for the manager. This one is from another funder who needs some monthly statistical returns for a monitoring report.
The waiting room is filling up and people look up expectantly every time an adviser walks by! I go out and explain that we are busy but we will see everyone eventually.
In addition to seeing people face to face, advisers are also answering the advice line telephone and conducting full-scale interviews, inviting them to come in or offering to post out information.
Today we have some trainees in the session and so established advisers are acting as mentors, showing how the interview process works in practice, and explaining our electronic information system.
Advisers are now writing up their case notes and submitting them for checking. I make sure that the advice is accurate and complete, all follow up work identified and the statistics recorded. I also make sure that social policy issues have been identified.
The session is drawing to a close and the volunteers for the day are finishing off their work and tidying up. However the bureau is still operating. Some caseworkers have out of hours appointments, are attending tribunals or researching and writing up submissions for imminent court hearings.
The mid afternoon telephone rush begins. I take a call from the local authority wanting to talk to a caseworker about someone's rent arrears. Creditors ring in with account balances. The appeals service returns a call to give us information about the progress of a case.
Eventually the day finishes and the bureau is shut for the night.
Tomorrow it all starts again. Here's to the next 30 years!
www.ned-cab.org.uk
For basic advice, a local organization database, social policy issues and our community profiles, visit our website.
Our news and press release sections are regularly updated, and we link to many other useful sources.
Interactive elements of the site include a debt self help pack, and sample letters for a variety of consumer issues.
Message From The Chair
As you can see this is a slightly different report from the ones we usually write.
We have attempted to capture the flavour of the bureau while incorporating all the key advice elements which make up the varied and worthwhile work of the bureau.
I am pleased to be associated with such a forward thinking, dynamic bureau and know it can only get better and better.
On behalf of the people of North East Derbyshire I commend its efforts and on behalf of the management committee I wish to praise the staff and volunteers and thank the funders for their vital support.
Last updated: March 15, 2007