Advice that makes the difference

The Citizens Advice service and Reading Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has been helping people to resolve their money, legal and other problems since 1939.

• Reading Citizens Advice Bureau is Reading's only advice agency that delivers generalist and specialist advice across the whole of Reading
  
• We help people deal with nearly 16000 new problems every year, by phone and email, at our Minster Street premises, outreach sessions in places like hospitals or health centres and courts


• CAB advice is free, impartial, independent, confidential and provided by trained volunteers.


• The CAB service is known by 96 per of the public and 41 per cent has used us at some point in their lives.


• The advice we give is the first in the advice sector to be audited for the quality of the advice given to clients.


• Reading Citizens Advice Bureau advice is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age or nationality.


• Reading Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity reliant on trained volunteers and funds to continue providing this vital service to our local communities.

THE PRINCIPLES OF CAB ADVICE

Independent – we will always act in the interests of our clients, without influence from any outside bodies.

Impartial – we don't judge our clients or make assumptions about them. Our service is open to everyone, and we treat everyone equally.

Confidential – we won't pass on anything a client tells us – or even the fact that they've visited us – without their permission

Free – no-one has to pay for any part of the service we provide

Reading Citizens Advice Bureau is a member of Citizens Advice which has high membership standards in the areas of governance and quality. At our last quality audit we scored over 90% which put us in the top 5% of CAB's in England.

We are a problem solving organisation and through the provision of timely advice, information, advocacy, referral and signposting we help people resolve their problems and take control of their lives.

With both a full generalist and specialist advice service we help thousands of people every year, both in our main area of Reading and across Berkshire through our projects like the Macmillan Cancer Benefits Service.

We are committed to exercising a responsible influence on the development of social policies and services, both locally and nationally.

Through our Social Policy work we have provided evidence on a wide range of issues that have influenced Government policy including the behaviour of Bailiffs, Distance and Doorstep Selling, Payment Protection Insurance and the exploitation of migrant workers.

Locally we have worked with other advice agencies and local MP's to address the delays in awarding Job Seekers Allowance and the poor performance of Job Centre Plus.

We offer full training and support to people who want to come and volunteer with us in a range of roles, including generalist advice worker. Volunteer advisers have the chance to develop a range of important skills and gain experience that can be a significant help in pursuing a career. It also offers an opportunity to make a contribution to life within the community in which you live.

Many people have the necessary skills and life experience to be an adviser or fulfil one of the other roles we offer, (information support worker, administration, advice support etc).  Reading Citizens Advice Bureau can also award a nationally recognised certificate in generalist advice at the end of your training.

Reading Citizens Advice Bureau provides a range of training courses aimed at an organisation's staff.  In particular inter-personal and communication skills, leadership and supervision skills, customer service etc.

Contact us with your organisation's needs as we are able to customise training for your individual situation.

We also deliver an annual programme of practical information based courses which include Welfare Benefits, Housing and Debt.  Our customised courses on subjects such as Financial Literacy and Capability, Employment and Interviewing Skills have proved extremely popular and we are developing further programmes to meet customer needs.  We have been delivering sessions in schools across the Thames Valley for nearly ten years and these have evolved to fit the current curriculum on issues of citizenship and young people's rights and responsibilities.

HOW CAB ADVISERS CAN HELP

There are a number of different ways that CAB advisers can help people to resolve a problem. Advisers don't tell clients what to do, but explain their options and the possible outcomes of different courses of action.  Clients are encouraged to make their own decisions and act on their own behalf.  We enable clients to manage their own problems by focusing on their needs as individuals.

Reading CAB advisers, most of whom are trained volunteers can:

• interview clients face-to-face and by phone to identify their problem(s)
• access our regularly updated electronic information database for up to the minute information
• help clients to negotiate with companies or service providers such as creditors or to appeal against decisions, for example, social security benefit claims
• write letters or phone companies and service providers on behalf of clients
• help clients to prioritise their problems, for example, to sort out which debts are most important
• help clients with form filling, for example, to claim for social security benefits
• represent clients in court and at tribunals
• refer clients to Reading CAB specialist caseworkers for complex problems or to other agencies when appropriate.