Presentation by Vicki Rowe Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice.

The Chair welcomed Vicki Rowe, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice to the meeting and advised that the purpose of the presentation was for the Committee to gain an understanding of the work that Citizens Advice undertook locally within the North Devon area.

The Committee received a presentation by Vicki Rowe, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice who highlighted the following:

• Details and figures in relation demand 1^st April – 30^th September 2024:

Ø  Helped 3,159 people compared to 2,611 in 2023/24, which was an increase of 21%.

Ø  Assisted with 11,185 problems compared to 8,248 in 2023/24, which was an increase of 35.6%.

Ø  Household income had increased by £2,533,330 compared to £2,250,783, which was an increase of 12.6%.

• The service was addressing an unprecedented level of demand, which continued to grow.
• Unmet demand, which saw 60% of calls going unanswered together with people being turned away from drop-ins and waiting times for appointments of up to 20 working days.
• The main problems people present to the service with in the North Devon area.
• Energy costs were rising together with the increase in the cost of living.
• Key areas of debt in North Devon.
• Supporting North Devon Council’s (NDC) priority on housing.
• Our specialist services.
• Partnerships that Citizen’s Advice worked with.
• Advocacy through research and campaigns.
• Living Standards report.
• Supporting NDC to protect and improve the physical, mental health and wellbeing of its residents.
• Our key challenges.
• Citizens Advice team in North Devon.
• Volunteer Value (fiscal value).

It was agreed the powerpoint slides be circulated to all Members for their information.

Following the presentation, the Committee asked questions and the Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice advised the following:

·         The Annual Impact report would be sent to the Senior Corporate and Community Services officer in March 2025.

·         With regards to a breakdown of funding for the service and how it was impacted, the Committee were advised of the following:

Ø  50% was funded through grants from Devon County Council (DCC) together with the four District Councils and the Town and Parish Councils.

Ø  50% was funded through restricted income from various charities and organisations. The service also sought other funding opportunities wherever possible.

·         There were currently 36 volunteers working within the North Devon area.

·         The CA had a good operational relationship with NDC and there was a regular ongoing dialogue between the two to ensure that situations were managed jointly to seek a resolution.

·         More people presenting with mental health issues than previously.

·         There was currently a potential deficit of £150,000 for the forthcoming financial year, which the service was looking to address.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that there was regular engagement between NDC and the CA with regards to income banded schemes for Council Tax Support. He emphasised the importance of reporting, adding that there was lots of help available, with access to services in person at the Ilfracombe office and Lynton House, via Customer Services at Brynsworthy and directly through the CA.

It was agreed to add an awareness session for the services available for Members to signpost their constituents to for support and assistance as part of the Member training programme.

In response to a question regarding the supply and demand of its services and any plans that were in place to address this, the Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice advised that they did have a plan to address increasing demand and that they had utilised some of their reserves to employ additional paid staff to assist with the increase in requests for help and support from the service.

She added that the CA also continued to apply for grant funding wherever possible and that it felt supported by DCC and other authorities and would continue to seek to increase its volunteers.

In response to a question regarding required funds, the Chief Executive Officer, Citizen’s Advice advised that conversations were currently being held together with assessment of its Funding Strategy for continued and increased funding.

In response to a question regarding the perception of deprivation in that it was as much a rural as it was an urban issue, the Chief Executive Officer, Citizen’s Advice advised that the Data Index of Multiple Deprivation contained ward level data, which detailed who had been supported and provided meaningful data to support conversations and discussions.

In response to a further question, she explained that any funding received from within the North Devon area was utilised within the North Devon area.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the presentation be noted; and

b)    That the presentation be circulated to all Members of Council for their information.

The Chair thanked the Chief Executive Officer, Citizen’s Advice for her presentation and attendance at the meeting.