Our Impact and Social Value in Amber Valley 2019/20
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Our impact and social value in Amber Valley 2019/20 “Thank you so much for your help... now I can start to get my life back on track.” X,XXX £4.6 million 23,678 securedpeople in problems benefitshelped and tackled grants Our work in Amber Valley X,XXX X,XXX £1.74 million people3,519 people debt people helped rescheduledhelped or helped written off Welcome and introduction We are proud to celebrate another successful year of helping people across Amber Valley. We have helped over 3,519 people with more than 23,678 issues, with the majority of clients having benefit and debt problems. We have faced challenges with Universal Credit, which has placed more pressures on households that are already struggling and we are now faced with the unprecedented challenges that the current pandemic is presenting. As an organisation, we have helped 1,000 more people than the previous year and have grown and developed our services. We developed our award-winning Financial Futures service, which provides digital and financial capability support across Derbyshire Districts, rolled out the national Help to Claim service designed to assist people making the first claim for Universal Credit and secured funding with a major Energy distribution company providing Energy advice to the most vulnerable in our society. We continue to campaign on issues that affect our clients, such as working with local councils to implement the Citizens Advice Council Tax protocol campaign and constantly review our service to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all people, for example making sure our offices are dementia-friendly. Our team of dedicated staff and volunteers have ensured that we deliver a high-quality and responsive service across Alfreton, Belper, Crich, Duffield, Heanor, Horsley Woodhouse, Ironville, Langley Mill, Ripley and Somercotes locations. We are also grateful to our funders, who continue to ensure that we maintain our services and meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in Amber Valley. 2019 saw us celebrate the 80th Anniversary of our service. We launched during World War ll to help residents rebuild after the War and we remain at the heart of communities providing more help than ever before in a new period of uncertainty. We remain reliable, ready to help and responsive to the current needs of clients in our local area. Chief Officer: Chloe Doxey Our clients... Citizens Advice clients are almost five times more likely to live in poverty than the average member of the UK population. Our work in Amber Valley serves some of the most economic and socially challenged wards in Derbyshire. Many people seeking our help face challenges to their physical health and mental wellbeing which are making everyday life hard. Clients by gender 58% Female 42% Male 52% of people we have helped in Amber Valley have a disability or long-term health condition. Clients by age 29% of people with a <25 disability or long term health condition disclosed 25-29 having mental health issues. 30-34 35-39 “The whole experience has been very 40-44 good, no matter who you see, all the staff are willing to listen and help as best they 45-49 can. As for me; it was help filling out forms. I also found out I was entitled to a little more each week, which I wouldn’t 50-54 have known about otherwise” 55-59 60-64 65+ 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% Amber Valley in detail... In the last year we have: Dealt with Handled Tackled over 13,229 3,224 Assisted with 660 issues enquiries queries 972 relating to relating to about PIP and relationship and Council Tax Benefits, Tax queries family issues 1,179 arrears Credits and UC about ESA Our client had been in debt in the past and had pursued the option of a Debt Relief Order (DRO) to deal with this. One of the debts was a debt owed to HM Revenue and Customs which had occurred as a result of an overpayment of Tax Credits. When opting to have a DRO, our client had been advised that once the Debt Relief Order had been completed then all listed debts would not be recoverable. Our Client had noticed that ongoing deductions were being made from their Universal Credit claim to recover the Tax Credit Debt. Our client had written a note on their Universal Credit (UC) journal requesting that as they had successfully completed the DRO process the deductions from their benefit be refunded. They had received no response from the DWP and deductions had continued. Our client asked for assistance to have the ongoing deductions stopped and a refund of the money which had been incorrectly deducted. Our adviser looked into the guidance provided by the Insolvency Service and noted that following the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the Secretary of State for Work and Pension v Payne & Cooper, it had been clear that the Secretary of State does not have the right to recover overpayments of benefits that are a qualifying debt in a DRO, by way of making deductions from an ongoing award of benefit. Having been unable to get through to the DWP Debt Management team by telephone, our advisor wrote on our client’s behalf to the Debt Management team. Following our intervention our client received a refund of £499.04 and no further deductions were made from their ongoing claim for UC. 185 people came to us We helped 104 people 97 people needed our for advice about to address their rent help to access divorce and separation arrears community care Issues Ward % tackled Ripley 2,504 11 Heanor West 2,106 9 We have continued working with Langley Mill & Aldercar 1,855 8 Severn Trent Water to give reduced Alfreton 1,735 7 rates to households who don’t have Ironville & Riddings 1,726 7 much money left at the end of the Somercotes 1,530 7 month. Heanor & Loscoe 1,423 6 Each customer can save up to £298 on Ripley & Marehay 1,364 6 their bills. Heanor East 1,362 6 Codnor & Waingroves 1,062 5 Belper South 1,022 4 Total savings for Kilburn, Denby & Holbrook 919 3 residents last year Shipley Park, Horsley & were more than 861 3 Horsley woodhouse £47,000. Belper East 860 3 Belper Central 771 3 Heage & Ambergate 639 3 Swanwick 405 2 People Ward % Belper North 398 2 helped Alport 263 1 Duffield 236 1 Ripley 307 9 South West Parishes 236 1 Langley Mill & Aldercar 289 8 Crich 227 1 Heanor West 282 8 Wingfield 174 1 Alfreton 241 7 Heanor East 231 7 Kate lives alone. She visited us as she felt her Heanor & Loscoe 214 6 fuel costs were very high and she could not Somercotes 201 6 afford to heat her home. She told us that she was too afraid to put her heating on because of Ironville & Riddings 197 6 the cost. Kate has multiple health issues and Ripley & Marehay 183 5 requires help reading and writing. Belper South 168 5 We looked at her current fuel usage and used Kilburn, Denby & Holbrook 154 4 our price comparison tool to ensure that Kate was getting the best deal for her energy. In Codnor & Waingroves 145 4 Shipley Park, Horsley & Kates circumstances she was better off 136 4 remaining with her current supplier and our Horsley Woodhouse adviser arranged for her to be placed on a Belper Central 133 4 cheaper tariff saving almost £100. We signed Belper East 127 4 Kate up for the Priority Services Register and Heage & Ambergate 94 3 ensured that she received the Warm Home Discount. Kate was also provided with advice Swanwick 93 3 and tips on reducing her fuel costs. A full Belper North 85 2 benefit check was completed and we Crich 60 2 successfully assisted with the completion of PIP Alport 53 2 reassessment forms. Duffield 51 1 awarding Kate £119.60 Wingfield 40 1 per week. South West Parishes 35 1 Our advice... There are many reasons why people turn to our service. Often concerned about one issue, such as housing, this may well be linked to other issues such as debt, benefit, financial capability and/ or employment issues. We take a holistic approach to advice, ensuring every client leaves our service empowered and ready to tackle their issues. Issues Benefits & Tax Credits 8,778 Debt Benefits Universal Credit 4,451 Consumer Goods & Services 379 This is our second largest area of advice with the majority of Debt 3,721 queries relating to Council tax. Discrimination & Hate & GVA 124 When people are struggling Education 40 with essential expenditure such as this, it usually indicates Employment 751 further issues with debt. Financial Services & Capability 1,381 We therefore explore the Health & Community Care 387 situation in detail and by Housing 846 helping with income maximisation and reducing Immigration & Asylum 97 expenditure, aim to get clients Legal 354 in a position to be able to Other 237 manage their finances whilst looking at suitable debt options. Relationships & Family 972 Empowering clients to manage Tax 116 their budget going forward Travel & Transport 229 reduces the risk of a crisis in future. Utilities & Communications 815 Grand Total 23,678 Benefits, Tax Credits and Universal Credit Benefits relating to health conditions and disabilities, such as Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance, continue to be a significant area where advice is required. Sick and disabled people are needing help in making and managing a claim or are seeking advice on challenging decisions.