The Difference We Make in Copeland

Our impact in 2019/2020 The difference we make in Copeland

A registered charity No. 1080581 Company Limited by Guarantee Registration No. 3954988 We are Citizens Advice Copeland Every year thousands of people come to us for advice and help with solving their problems.

We're here for everyone and help with problems including managing debt or household bills, benefit checks and appeals as well as understanding rights at work and housing issues. We also provide specialist services in Egremont, Distington and Cleator Moor.

We are an important part of this community and in 2019/20 we delivered advice in 8 locations where people needed us. Through our daily interaction with clients, we have a credible understanding of local needs. We use our data and insight to tailor our services, as well as help improve policies and practices locally.

We're also part of the Citizens Advice service. This means we share knowledge and best practice so that people can expect a quality service. Together we work to fix the underlying causes of people's problems using evidence gathered from across our network.

Putting our clients' needs at the heart of decision-making means we also work in partnership, making it easier for clients to access relevant services. During 2019/20 we have worked in partnership with organisations including Whitehaven, Egremont and District Credit Union, Phoenix Enterprise Centre, Jobcentre, North Lakes Foodbank, Copeland Borough Council, Distington Big Local, Choices Cumbria and Cumbria County Council.

This is the story of our impact in Copeland Aims and Principles

The Citizens Advice service provides

Our service aims: Our funders

Citizens Advice Copeland receives support from a wide range of funders. We’d like to thank all of the organisations that have supported us during 2019/20. We look forward to your continued support and working with all of you in future years. Copeland Borough Council Cumbria County Council Macmillan Cancer Support North Lakes Foodbank Cumbria Community Foundation The Henry Smith Charity Copeland Community Fund Money and Pensions Service Sellafield Ltd Hadfield Trust United Utilities Trust Fund Phoenix Enterprise Centre Department for Work and Pensions Cleator Moor Town Council Phyllis Harney Trust Distington Big Local Groundworks North East and Cumbria Energy Advice Project Women Out West How you can access our service

Advice Face to Face: We have offices in Whitehaven and Millom offering drop-in sessions and appointments with specially trained advisors in areas including debt and benefits.

On The Phone: AdviceLine For those unable to attend a face to face session a telephone advice service is available Monday - Friday by calling our dedicated AdviceLine number on 0800 144 8848.

At Outreach: Advice closer to you Our advisors hold advice sessions in and around the community. In 2019/20 we delivered regular advice sessions at Cleator Moor, Distington,Phoenix Enterprise Centre, Whitehaven Job Centre and Egremont Foodbank

Online: Advice at your fingertips Citizens Advice Copeland provides a range of information and service updates on our website citizensadvicecopeland.org.uk You can also find us on

Citizens Advice Copeland copeland_ca Chairs Report

This has been a year of unprecedented challenge for our organisation. Given the ‘normal’ pressures of Universal Credit, redundancies, unemployment, child poverty and pressure on families across our region, we then had to overlay the COVID-19 challenges. These were not only challenges to Copeland, but to our whole operations.

As with all good teams, we adapted and improvised in a very short space of time. Telephone advice, video and audio conferences were all employed successfully. If you look at our benefits provided, it is obvious we have been as busy and successful as in other years. This is a testament to the professionalism of our staff and the brilliant leadership of our CEO. All available funding has been sourced and we are as financially secure as it is possible to be in these uncertain times

Uncertainty is something we must learn to live with at present: firms facing financial hardships and lockdowns, all contribute to individual problems across the full spectrum of society and we need to be available to support our community through their issues.

I do look forward optimistically, generally based in my confidence in the people that work in Citizens Advice Copeland delivering their unequalled service to our clients.

I would like to extend my thanks to all our staff and volunteers for the work they have done and continue to do. You are magnificent!

Stay safe, and look after each other.

Peter Hanratty Chief Officers Report

As I reflect on 2019/20 there is so much to be proud of. We celebrated our 80th birthday in September 2019 which for a local independent charity is an extraordinary achievement. Today we are dealing with many of the same issues, problems relating to poverty, housing, debt, employment and access to food.

I am proud to be the Chief Officer of an organisation that has such a huge impact on people’s lives. We are only a small team of paid staff and volunteers but what we achieve is amazing. Over 2,500 people have been assisted in 2019/20 with over 15,000 issues. We have secured income gains of nearly £2 million and have assisted clients to deal with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of debt.

Towards the end of this year we responded quickly to the Covid 19 pandemic changing service delivery overnight which has been our biggest challenge as an advice agency. We have continued to deliver a high level of quality advice, our financial recording meets national standards and we consistently meet and exceed targets set of us by our funders and the national Citizens Advice service and that of Advice Quality Standards. This is why I can be confident that our clients are getting the very best service.

Our work within the community and with our local partners is something I continue to be proud of and I hope that we can continue to develop. All of what we have achieved could not be possible without the support from our funders and I am hugely grateful for their belief in us to deliver advice and support to Copeland residents.

From Whitehaven to Millom we will continue to support those who need us in these most difficult and uncertain times. Responding to need and demand and providing the very best service we can.

Shelley Hewitson Our staff and volunteers

We employ 18 paid staff which includes specialist advisers, administrators, trainers and our cleaning team. Our paid staff provides advice from our offices in Whitehaven and Millom as well as at outreach locations. We have a team of 28 volunteers who undertake roles including advisers, In 2019/2020 our telephone assessors, researchers, campaigners, administrators and trustees. Our volunteers undertake a high level of training, equipping them with the skills they need to deal with our vast advisers assisted range of enquiry areas. clients to deal with 15,488 issues. Thank you to the following volunteers who have supported us in 2019/20: An increase of 22% on previous Sheila Blackadder, William Cocker, Diane Routledge, Anne Dick, Paul Cox, Paul Mitchell, Matthew years figures McKenzie, Trish Adams, Margaret Close, Mavis Hodgson, Ann Sanderson, Clare Brind, Patsy Crowther, Yan Jiang, Adrianne Calsy, Shirley Clark, Jane Micklethwaite, Hilary Hemm, Amanda Dockray, Alex Rayment, Jack Blezard, Marcus Pope, Sara Irving, Rachel McLaren, Bertha Priestly, Peter Hanratty, Peter Smith, Pam Douglas, David Wallace, Bob Kelly, Jane Donaldson , John Alderson ...... We couldn’t have done it without you! Our staff and volunteers

Our team of paid staff specialise in different advice areas and are experienced in giving advice and support on thousands of different issues every year.

Shelley Hewison - Chief Officer John Chapman - Operations Manager Joyce Chapman - Training and Quality Officer Chris Nichol - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and our Finance officer Alison Bragg - Advice Officer specialising in Financial Inclusion Catrina Lazonby - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Macmillan project Gillian Percival - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Choices project Lyndsay Carver - Advice Officer specialising in Energy David Judd - Advice Officer specialising in welfare benefits and lead caseworker on our Help to Claim project Rebecca Lyall, Anne McCarron and Naomi Wright - Financial Inclusion Officers Alysha Thirlaway, Emma Stone and Lauren Dunn - Administrators Rhyse Wilson - Administration Apprentice Teressa Kevern and Lan Pham - Cleaning Team “I enjoy volunteering with Volunteering Citizens Advice Copeland very much as it is very, very In 2019/20, 32 volunteers helped us to deliver our service all bringing with them skills interesting with endless and experiences to support people who live and work in Copeland. We provide full training in a position to fit your skills including administration, advice work, researchers, opportunities to learn new campaigners, training, fundraisers and trustees. Our training programme is being things. developed to meet the needs of those who are now training from home. We are grateful to the Hadfield Trust who have supported our training programme. Funding I look forward to coming into from the Copeland Community Fund also supports the recruitment of our volunteers. the office each week as my colleagues are lovely and Research by Citizens Advice found that: have made me feel very welcome. All CAB volunteers gain at least one practical skill from volunteering 4 in 5 believe that they have increased their employability This has been really good for 9 in 10 have an increased sense of purpose or self-esteem me as i moved up here 4 in 5 believe volunteering has had a positive effect on their health nearly 3 years ago and this is 9 in 10 feel more engaged with their community the only chance that i can get out and socialise as I have 2 We are extremely lucky in Copeland to have a dedicated and committed team of children” volunteers. Our longest serving volunteers, Sheila Blackadder, has been part of our organisation since 1983 - a remarkable achievement. Our volunteers use the skills and experiences gained whilst with us not only to support the community but also to secure Donna, Trainee Adviser paid employment. If volunteering is something you would like to more about you can find more information here or contact us on 01946 693321

For more information visit our website www.citizensadvicecopeland.org.uk or contact us on 01946 693321 for an application pack and informal chat. Our trustee board is made up of volunteers who live and work in Copeland. Our trustees help to Our Trustees guide and govern Citizens Advice Copeland by working with the Chief Officer and other staff to give direction and shape strategic direction of the organisation. Our 7 members are trustees under Statement of Internal Control charity law and directors of the charitable company.

The trustee board of Citizens Advice Copeland In 2019/20 our trustees are: oversee the information security of all personal information of our clients, staff, funders and strategic partners that is processed. Chair: Peter Hanratty Citizens Advice Copeland hold joint responsibility for Treasurer: Peter Smith client data that is held in our case management system, with the national Citizens Advice Service. Secretary: Jane Donaldson An information assurance management team exists to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability Robert Kelly of all personal and sensitive data is maintained to a level which is compliant with the requirements the Pam Douglas General Data Protection Regulation and Data David Wallace Protection Act 2018. John Alderson Our value to society £1 We help millions of people every year. This provides us with Every pound we spend unique insight into the challenges our clients are facing benefits our clients by £14.86 today. We’re not only helping people find their way during difficult situations, but also identifying and tackling the underlying causes of their problems. £1.07 million The people we help, our funders, government and the Amount we saved the organisations we work with see the value we deliver and the government and public impact we’re making. services For every £1 spent on the Citizens Advice service in Copeland , we benefit our clients by £14.86 and we save the government and public services £1.07million. We estimate £6.6 million our total social and economic value to society to be £6.6 Estimated total social and million. economic value to society

For more information on how these figures were calculated please visit: https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/research/research-cost-benefit-analysis/ How we help people

Whether it’s by phone, email, webchat or face to face, we’ve supported 2652 Copeland residents to get the advice they need in a way that works for them.

In 2019/20 our top 5 issues were:

1. Benefits and Tax Credits 4257 issues 2. Debt 3958 issues 3. Benefits Universal Credit 3697 issues 4. Housing 502 issues 5. Financial Capability 384 issues The People We Help

Our service is available to anyone, whoever you are and whatever your problem.

In 2019/20:

54% clients were female and 46% were male

45% of clients lived in a private rented or housing association property

22% of clients were in paid employment

64% of clients were aged 45 and over

56% of clients had a disability or long term health condition Our projects

We understand the importance of working in partnership and the benefits it has for our service users. Over the last year we have worked with Organisations from across Copeland to ensure that our clients have access to the all of the advice and support they need. Our projects include:

Copeland Financial Inclusion Project Funded by Copeland Community Fund, Copeland Borough Council, Sellafied Ltd and The Henry Smith Charity. This project enables us to ensure that Copeland residents have the access needed to increase income, reduce expenditure and plan for a financially stable future. Working with Whitehaven, Egremont and District Credit Union we promote personal budgeting support, highlight important issues such as illegal money lending and scam awareness as well as deliver group training sessions on subjects such as priority payments, creditor action, pensions and saving for a house. In 2019/20 income gains for this project total over £182,000 and we have assisted clients to deal with over 4,000 different issues.

County Council Money Advice We receive funding from Cumbria County Council to support people in Copeland to manage and resolve any debt issues they may have. Our advisers also look at ways in which income can be maximised and expenditure reduced by offering financial wellbeing advice. In 2019/20 we have assisted clients to manage debt totalling £417,000 as well as secure income gains of over £257,000.

Energy Advice Every year hundreds of people come to us for assistance to find a better deal on their energy costs or appeal decisions by energy companies. Our energy specialist has an NVQ level 3 award in Energy Advice and regularly attends National Energy Action conferences to keep up to date with all the latest updates and regulations. We believe that no one should ever have to make the decision if they should put food on the table or heat their homes. That is why this project is so important to us. In 2019/20 63% of the people who used this service were disabled or had a long term health condition. We advised on over 320 energy issues and saved clients and secured income gains of over £11,000 Our projects

Macmillan Welfare Benefit Support Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support we have delivered a benefit advice project to Copeland residents for the last 14 years. This project benefits support to people who have a cancer diagnosis assisting them with benefit entitlement, help to make a benefit claim, apply for grants, blue badges as well as providing information and signposting to our specialist debt and housing teams and other specialist support available. In 2019/20 we secured benefit gains for Macmillan clients of £786,690.

Phoenix Enterprise Centre This projects funds our specialist workers to support PEC clients to deal with issues relating primarily to debt, benefits and housing. Our workers are based in PEC’s Whitehaven and Cleator Moor centres and this project supports our holistic way of working by ensuring that clients benefit from the support offered by both organisations. In 2019/20 we have assisted 120 unique clients with over 700 different issues. The age group with the highest number of clients to this service is 50-65 and over 70% identified themselves as having a disability or long term health condition.

Choices The Choices project works with people who are long term unemployed, assisting them to move into education, training, job searching or employment. This is a multi agency response to the problem of unemployment in West Cumbria and our role is that of financial inclusion support. Our specialist worker will look at the barriers that may face people in securing employment as well as supporting them in applying for grants, dealing with debt and housing problems. This project has assisted clients with 490 different issues in 2019/20 with 75% of client’s identifying as having a disability or long term health condition Our projects

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) fund us to provide Copeland residents with debt advice. This support provides specialist debt advice to clients by looking at all options for dealing with debts, assisting clients to produce to a financial statement and looking at the best long term option for securing a more secure financial future. Demand for this service is extremely high and in 2019/20 we have assisted clients with over 3823 different issues, 2945 of those relating specifically to debt. We supported clients to manage debts totalling over £340,000 and secured income gains of over £75,000.

Help to Claim Funded by the DWP we provide specialist advice and support to clients who are making a claim for Universal Credit for the first time. Our support enables clients to check that Universal Credit is the correct benefit for them to claim, support them through the claims process and ensure they understand their claimant responsibilities. In 2019/20 we assisted clients with over 2,200 issues and secured income gains of over £396,000.

Our Financial Inclusion work this year has been funded by funders including United Utilities Trust Fund and Sellafield Ltd. We have delivered sessions to individuals and groups throughout the Borough promoting effective budgeting, how to reduce your expenditure and maximise your income and saving and planning for the future. This is an important part of our work which we plan ti develop in 2020/21. Sharon’s Story

Sharon came to us for support with issues relating to her benefits. Sharon is single, disabled of working age and has been in receipt of both income related sickness and disability benefits over the last 10 years . Sharon was was vulnerable due to mental ill health conditions and requested help with a review form. When investigating her case our adviser was quick to pick up an error in her current benefit calculations. With the Clients express permission our adviser worked through 3 carrier bags of paperwork spanning the 10 years.

Our adviser discovered a missing premium linked to Sharon’s sickness and disability benefits and asked if he could pursue this matter on her behalf with the DWP. Sharon was very anxious about dealing with DWP but agreed to us making contact. Subsequent negotiations between the Adviser and ESA noted an underpayment of just under £30,000.00.

Our adviser undertook the responsibility of informing the Client first before a written notification was sent out to ensure that her health condition and anxiety remained stable during this vulnerable period. Our adviser also contacted the local authority to ensure the arrears of benefit would not affect any current entitlement as this would be considered as an official error.

Sharon received £30,000 in arrears and an increase of £65.05 in benefit every week. Working within our communities

Thanks to generous funding from Distington Big Local, Cleator Moor Town Council, Women Out West and North Lakes Foodbank we have been able to work in the heart of some of our local communities.

Funding from Distington Big Local paid for a specialist advice officer to deliver a weekly advice clinic at Distington Community Centre. Here we assisted local residents with issues including benefits, debt, housing, and employment. We worked with local residents supporting them to set up a local food hub as well working with younger residents supporting them to become local community champions thanks to funding from Cumbria Community Foundation and the #IWill project.

Funding from Cleator Moor Town Council has enabled us to maintain a weekly advice clinic at Cleator Moor Town Hall. Every Friday morning our specialist advisers offer advice and information to residents from Cleator Moor and the surrounding areas.

Working in partnership with North Lakes Foodbank we provided advice and information sessions at there Egremont collection point every Tuesday and Friday. This service supports those who are attending the collection centre without a voucher as well as those who need support to deal with the underlying reason as to why they need food.

Funding from Women Out West has enabled us to provide specialist advice and support to centre users on a range of issues including benefits, housing and debt. Working within our communities In 2019 we celebrated our 80th birthday! We have had a presence in Whitehaven since 1939 delivering an advice service from the YMCA building.

Throughout the year we have taken our advice stands to many different local events including Mental Health conference and The Big Conversation. Working with North Lakes Foodbank our information was given out in foodbank packs covering topics including how to save money, energy advice and how to deal with debt. We have visited Food Pantry sessions throughout the borough and worked in partnership to raise awareness of issues including loan sharks and scams. Patrick’s Story

Patrick came to us for support regarding his daughters PIP appeal. Patrick had been in dispute for nearly 3 years with the DWP and requested our support in making an appeal. Our specialist benefit adviser worked with the Patrick to find out the details of his daughters illness and how it impacted her life. After completing thorough research our adviser drew up an appeal submission detailing the history of the case and helped the client obtain medical evidence to assist with the tribunal hearing.

The tribunal ruled in the Patrick’s favour and a backdated payment of PIP was made to the clients daughter from when she initially claimed which totalled £4,382.90. As a result of the PIP award, the client was entitled an additional premium of his Tax Credit award and received a lump sum payment of £3,401.70 to cover the missing entitlement. A backdated award of Carers Allowance was also made totalling £4,790.50 due to the care the client had provided to his daughter.

In total, the intervention and expertise of our staff resulted in the client receiving a total of £12,575.10 in 3 lump sums, and an ongoing weekly benefit increase of £116.80 per week. Research and Campaigns

We use our evidence and influence to tackle people’s problems on a local, county and national level. This year, we achieved policy improvements across welfare, debt, postal system, housing, energy, employment, and consumer issues to help make life easier for people. In Copeland we are lucky to have a dedicated team of volunteers and staff who promote our campaigns within our office, report Copeland evidence to the County research and campaigns group and feed into national work. More information about our national campaigns can be found here

2019/20 has been a busy year for our team who have worked to campaign for improvements to policy.

This year we worked with our colleagues throughout the County to update our report on Universal Credit in Cumbria. This report detailed the impact of Universal Credit on Cumbria residents and made suggestions for improvements. The report was shared widely including at local area committees, with County and Borough Councils, DWP, Cumbria CVS and Cumbria Community Foundation. It was also shared with the Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Working in partnership with local offices in Cumbria we have provided evidence to Cumbria County Council in support of the Ways to Welfare Scheme. This scheme provides financial support to some of our most vulnerable residents. Our evidence on why people need to access the support and the difference it makes has assisted in ensuring its continuation into 2020/21. This is vital programme of support and our work in providing evidence to the County Council is a huge achievement for our team.

If campaigning interests you why not join our team? We are always looking for volunteers who will support us in our research work and help us to campaign for change. If this is you contact us on 01946 693321 for more information. I would like to thank them for their help as its a free service and I felt they went above and beyond what I asked them to do

Client Feedback:

Celebrating our success My mental health is better due to the help I received with my money and debts

I was helped enormously by a volunteers who had great knowledge of the DWP and how to appeal my case

The telephone operator was brilliant when I first made contact. They were there when I really needed help, calmed me down, told me what to do and made me take the next steps I needed.

My adviser was extremely helpful and experienced We were delighted for our work to be recognised by Marcia in my specific problem. I have another Reid-Fotheringham, The High Sheriff of Cumbria. appointment to help me get through this stressful time. Marcia visited our Whitehaven office and discussed our work and impact in Copeland. We discussed the issues We are very grateful for the help to resolve the facing Copeland residents and how our service can help to problem that we were in, there is no way that we resolve these problems. We also accompanied Marcia to would have been able to sort out the problems on Distington Club for Young People so she could see some of our own. THANK YOU FOR THE HELP! the work we do within the community as well as meet the fantastic team of volunteers we work with. I would like to thank them for all the help, it is a free service and I feel they went above and beyond what I asked them to do. What is the overall client experience? As part of our surveys we ask clients about their experience of using Citizens Advice Copeland

Negative Positive Citizens Advice helps people find a way forward. We provide free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems. We are a voice for our clients and consumers on the issues that matter to them. We value diversity, champion equality, and challenge discrimination and harassment. We’re here for everyone.

citizensadvicecopeland.org.uk

Registered office: Tangier Buildings, Gregg’s Lane, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 7UH Charity Number: 1080581 | Company limited by guarantee, Registered number: 3954988 England

Citizens Advice Copeland is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 617570)