Registered office Clarence House 46 Humberstone Gate Leicester LE1 3PJ Tel: 0300 330 1025 www.citizensadviceleicestershire.org www.citizensadvice.org.uk 3 December 2019 Dear Ms Davies Can Knossington and Cold Overton Parish Council help support Melton residents to solve increasingly complex problems? Citizens Advice LeicesterShire is seeking the support of our communities to help us continue to provide the free, independent, impartial and confidential advice that the people of Melton rely on to solve their problems. The issues faced by local residents are becoming more complex. Universal Credit has been in place in Melton since 2016, affecting an increasing number of new claimants. There are significant pockets of poverty, particularly in Egerton & Fairmead and South Melton. 23.2% of households contain one person with a long-term health problem or disability, while 16% of children are living in poverty. Last year we supported clients in Melton with an average of three distinct, but often interconnected, issues. The most common problems were around debt, particularly council tax arrears, and claiming disability benefits. Andrew’s story After being hospitalised for pneumonia, Andrew* was told not to return to work by his doctor. He and his wife then received an eviction notice on their privately rented home. With the stress of Andrew’s illness, neither had been paying attention to their bills and they missed payments on their rent, council tax, energy and water. Life for the couple had changed completely. They did not know they were entitled to support, as neither of them had ever claimed benefits. The eviction notice was swiftly followed by an accelerated possession order, while at the same time the debts continued to mount. Eventually the couple were evicted. Andrew made an appointment with Citizens Advice LeicesterShire. The volunteer adviser immediately put him in touch with a local legal aid solicitor for help with housing. The volunteer also identified that the couple would be entitled to benefits, including council tax support and Pension Credit, once their housing situation had been resolved. Finally, the couple were referred to a specialist debt worker at Citizens Advice LeicesterShire’s Money Advice service to help them deal with their debts. Chief Executive Richard Evans Serving Leicester City and the districts of Blaby, Harborough, Hinckley & Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire and Oadby & Wigston. Citizens Advice LeicesterShire is a local charity. Charity registration number 1135081. Company limited by guarantee. Registered number 07186736 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN: 617648. Registered office: Clarence House, 46 Humberstone Gate, LE1 3PJ For details of our complaints process please write to us or email [email protected] “If you give money to Citizens Advice, it has impact.” ​Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert Thanks to Citizens Advice LeicesterShire’s diverse range of generalist advice, specialist services and local networks, we are able to ensure that even clients with complex needs, like Andrew, are able to swiftly access the help they need to solve their problems. Last year in Melton, we supported 925 local clients with over 3,000 issues. We also helped write off £26,000 debts and accessed £300,000 additional income for the poorest and most vulnerable residents of the borough. You can find out about the services available in Melton in the attached leaflet or at ​www.citizensadviceleicestershire.org​. An independent charity, rooted in local communities Many people do not realise that Citizens Advice LeicesterShire is an independent local charity. Our advice service in Melton is funded through a contract with Melton Borough Council and projects, such as the Money Advice Service, are funded by government or charitable grants. We are hugely grateful for the continued support of our communities, who recognise the vital role of our advice services for the people of Melton. However, we are operating in a ‘perfect storm’, where the impact of cuts to local services meet the increasingly complex and entrenched issues experienced by our clients. It costs an average of £67 to support one client through our generalist advice services. Without the support of our wider community, including Parish Councils, we would not be able to cope with the increasing complexity of issues that more and more Melton clients are facing. ​Please consider supporting Citizens Advice LeicesterShire in 2020 to allow us to continue to develop and deliver advice services that meet the evolving needs of the people of Melton. We would be very interested in any insight you may be able to share about the need in Melton and Knossington and Cold Overton or your suggestions for the development of local services. Please contact ​[email protected]​. Thank you for all your support so far. Yours sincerely Richard Evans Chief Executive Citizens Advice LeicesterShire Email: ​[email protected] 97% Melton clients would recommend Citizens Advice LeicesterShire. ​2019 Client Survey *Names have been changed. .