06/12/04

A report based on the experiences of people facing mental distress across Liverpool in partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureau of Anfield, Garston and Toxteth and the Liverpool Mental Health Consortium has been published.

You can read the report in PDF format by clicking the following link : Report (1MB)
To open a PDF files, you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your PC, click on the icon...

02/12/2004

Money advice funding in pre-Budget statement is good news, says Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice today gave a warm welcome to the announcement by Chancellor Gordon Brown of a new £120 million Financial Inclusion Fund which will increase face to face money advice services and tackle debt over the next three years.

In his pre-Budget report, Gordon Brown highlighted the important part that the problem-solving charity can play in delivering this goal of financial inclusion for all – a part that Citizens Advice is committed to playing.

The fund is intended to bring about a step change in the provision of face-to-face money advice as well as promoting access to affordable borrowing and banking services.

Citizens Advice Bureaux helped to resolve over one million debt problems last year. The number of consumer debt problems dealt with by the charity alone has risen by 74% in the last seven years but many hundreds of thousands of people miss out on getting help for their debts due to a shortage of advice services.

Citizens Advice Director of Policy Teresa Perchard said:

“We strongly welcome this important announcement. Personal debt problems are often caused by the most unwelcome and unexpected life events and can lead to people losing their families, homes and jobs. So it is right that the Government is giving a high priority to tackling this issue.

“Citizens Advice Bureaux help as many people as possible – but there are always many more that need us. The extra support for money advice given in this new fund will make a real difference in the help we can provide.”

The Chancellor announced that Government would work with the banking industry to reduce by half the number of families without bank accounts, a move strongly favoured by Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice and the IPPR produced a report last year called Beyond Bank Accounts* that examined how to tackle financial exclusion.

However, Teresa Perchard added that alongside these announcements, it was essential that the Consumer credit Bill announced in the Queen's Speech was introduced to Parliament without delay.

“The Consumer Credit Bill will bring long overdue reform to ensure lenders act responsibly and fairly towards consumers.

“Those reforms need to go hand in hand with the government's programme of promoting financial inclusion and investing in advice services. The government must ensure that over-indebtedness and the damage it can cause does not continue to grow because of irresponsible and unfair lending practices going unchecked'.

Other measures announced in the pre-Budget report that were welcomed by Citizens Advice include an extra £50 from next year in winter fuel payments to the over-70s as well as extra money to assist people on Incapacity Benefit to go back into work

The charity also welcomed the announcement that the childcare element of the child tax credit will be increased and paid maternity leave will be extended to nine months by 2007, with a goal of one year set for the future.

Citizens Advice also welcomed the announcement that, from April, employers will be able to offer employees, whatever their income range, £50 a week extra for approved child care free of tax and national insurance.

The charity also welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to helping more black and minority ethnic people into employment through the Ethnic Minority Business Forum.

01/12/04

Note of telephone scams currently in operation.......

We have received information about a couple of telephone scams that are currently in operation. These apply to home and work telephones - land lines and mobiles.

"If you do receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone, you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning an all expenses trip to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that costs approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes, costing around £100. The final part of the call involves you being asked to key your postcode and house number (which has other serious consequences).

After a further 2 minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the lucky winners.

The total bill will be £260.

Since the calls are originating from outside the UK, BT and othertelephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only safe solution is to HANG UP before the message prompts you to press 9; even safer is to HANG UP on any unsolicited 'free offer' call. This appears to be a variation on a theme, warnings have been sent previously regarding calls made by individuals claiming to be engineers conducting a test on the line and asking for 9, 0# and text messages similar to the routine described above. DO NOT DIAL 9 (OR 9,0# OR 0,9#) FOR ANYONE! BT has been contacted and confirmed the details as being true.

There is another scam operating on Mobile Phones.

A Missed Call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840. The last four numbers may vary but certainly the first four numbers will remain the same. If you call this number back, you will be charged £50 per minute. People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the cost of the call but apparently this is completely legal. So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with 0709.

Please pass this information on to your family and friends.

April 2004

Providing advice and assistance in health centres across the south Liverpool area

The Health & Advice Project team have been providing advice and assistance in health centres across the South Liverpool area for nearly 10 years. Throughout this time we have been taking advice to where it is needed most and maximising the incomes of the most socially and economically excluded members of our communities. Funded exclusively by the Community fund, this project has raised over £1 million pounds each year over the last three years. By concentrating on older people and the most vulnerable and excluded members of our communities we access health related benefits such as Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance as well as Pension Credits and Housing/Council Tax benefit.

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Melanie Johnson,
Debbie Nolan, Angela Taylor of the HAP team and Caryn Matthews (Manager of Garston Citizens Advice Bureau).
The Minister later wrote that she was “very Impressed” with the HAP.

December 2003

"A bit more money, a bit more health “


Gail Reynolds (HAP) Dr. Kate Arden (Director of Public Health South Liverpool Primary Care Trust and
Debbie Nolan (HAP) celebrate HAP’s achievements over the last year.

__________________________________________________________

March 2003

INCOME MAXIMISATION THROUGH BENEFITS ADVICE AND DEBT MANAGEMENT

Many people cannot access advice services in the traditional way, many of these, particularly those suffering from physical and/or mental ill health need more, not just the same amount of advice and assistance. The HAP recognises this and takes itself and its services directly to where they are needed most.

Angela Taylor and Gail Reynolds of the HAP meet with representatives of the National Lotteries Community Fund

____________________________________________________________

January 2003

Maria Eagle MP with Garston CABs management committee
at the official launch of the Health & Advice Project.