The impact of our work this year has been focused on the following:
- Individuals affected by the recession, where we have dealt with significant increases in the demand for debt advice, benefits advice and employment advice;
- Improving access to advice services by increasing our range of outreach activities and changing how we manage our drop in service in Hanley to make it easier for people to get the advice they need;
- Supporting and promoting cohesive communities in the face of the economic downturn, by working with a wide range of partners and offering projects targeted at marginalised communities;
- Influencing the delivery of services locally and the development of social policies nationally.
A Time of Recession
The most significant event of 2008/9 has been the recession and once again, for the third time in 30 years, Stoke Citizens Advice Bureau has been helping many of the poorest local people cope with the effects of the recession.
Rising unemployment (up 80% in Stoke between 2008 and 2009) has led to increases in home repossessions and unmanageable debt. However, the recession has not created an entirely new demand but has simply added to the record numbers of people who have been seeking help with financial problems over the past few years.
The number of new debt issues we dealt with in 2008/9 increased by 34% to 12,223. Debt now accounts for 37% of all our new advice issues. This compares with 22% only four years ago in 2004/5. Rising unemployment has brought with it a significant increase in the number of new employment issues, which have more than doubled compared to the previous year. Almost all of these are associated with job losses arising from the recession.
Stoke CAB has always seen significant numbers of people seeking advice on welfare benefits and that has not changed. The total number of new enquirers has risen by only 5% to 8,559 but 1 in 4 of all our new queries is now benefits related. Benefit take-up remains a key part of our work. This year £4.8 million worth of unclaimed benefit was identified.
The number of advice issues we can deal with is limited more by the number of staff and funding we have to deliver services rather than the demand. One thing is extremely clear there is huge unmet need and huge unmet demand for advice on debt, benefits and employment issues among the many thousands of people in this city who have suffered as a consequence of the credit crunch and the recession.
In the following pages we tell the stories of several of the individuals affected by the recession and outline how we try to respond positively to their plight.
