citizens advice newcastle advice trends 2015

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Newcastle

2014/15 Report

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Newcastle

Contents 1. About Citizens Advice Newcastle ................................................................................................... 3

1.1 About ‘Advice Trends Report .................................................................................................. 3

1.2 Understanding Advice Statistics.................................................................................................... 4

2. National Statistics 2014-15 ................................................................................................................. 5

2.1 Top 5 Advice Areas Nationally 2014-15 ........................................................................................ 5

2.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown 2014-15 (National) .................................................................................... 6

2.3 Advice Issues Summary (National) ................................................................................................ 7

2.4 Top 10 National Benefit Issues...................................................................................................... 7

2.5 Top 10 National Debt Issues ......................................................................................................... 8

2.6 National Client Demographics 2014-15 ........................................................................................ 8

3. Regional Statistics 2014-15 ........................................................................................................... 10

3.1 Top 5 Advice Areas: North East 2014-15 .............................................................................. 10

3.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown (Regional) 2014-15 ............................................................................ 11

3.3 AIC Key Advice Areas Quarterly Breakdown Comparison, 2013-14/2014-15 ...................... 12

3.4 Regional Financial Outcomes 2014-15, North East ..................................................................... 12

4. Local Statistics, Citizens Advice Newcastle, 2014-15 .................................................................... 13

4.1 Top 5 Advice Areas: Newcastle 2014-15 ............................................................................... 13

4.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown, Newcastle 2014-15 ................................................................................ 14

4.3 Advice Issues Summary (Newcastle) 2014-15 ............................................................................ 15

4.4 Top 10 Debt Issues (Newcastle) 2014-15 .................................................................................... 15

4.5 Top 10 Welfare Benefit Issues (Newcastle) 2014-15 .................................................................. 16

4.6 Enquiries by Level of Assistance ................................................................................................. 16

4.7 Client Numbers and Indices of Multiple Deprivation Maps: Newcastle upon Tyne, 2014-15 .... 17

4.8 Client Demographics Newcastle 2014-15 ................................................................................... 18

5. Impact of Advice ........................................................................................................................... 20

6. Comment ...................................................................................................................................... 21

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Newcastle

1. About Citizens Advice Newcastle 1

Since our inception in 1939 Citizens Advice Newcastle has had two core objectives:

To provide the advice people need for the problems they face.

To improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives. Our service provides free, impartial and confidential advice on anything and everything to all

in our city. Advice, information and support are delivered by a team of over 80 volunteers

and 23 paid staff. Key advice areas include including money, benefits, housing, immigration,

employment, consumer issues, family problems, social care and health services and much

more.

We are based in the heart of Newcastle city centre at 35 Nelson Street, St Cuthbert

Chambers, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5AN. Also we operate advice sessions from various

outreach locations across the city.

1.1 About ‘Advice Trends Report

The purpose of this report is to examine the key issues and problems why people present to

our service for assistance. Monitoring our information and data in this way allows us to

identify trends and to understand how and why people access our service so that we can

respond to that demand. We use our data, experience and networks in combination with

our clients to get their voices heard and campaign on important issues.

1 As part of a national brand update Newcastle upon Tyne Citizens Advice Bureau is now known as Citizens

Advice Newcastle.

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Newcastle

1.2 Understanding Advice Statistics

All clients are recorded on a single database, Petra. We maintain a single record for clients,

however often they return to the bureau.

A client record contains a range of demographic data from age, gender, ethnicity to

local authority and ward. In addition we log each interaction with the client and the nature

of work undertaken, eg telephone call, letter, face-to-face advice etc. A new enquiry

(advice area) within an existing client record is opened each time a client presents

with a fresh issue requiring advice.

When we have diagnosed a client’s problem and provide advice we attach an AIC (Advice

Issue Code) to the client record, reflecting all the problems/areas a client has been advised

upon within an enquiry. In light of this it is common for a single enquiry to have multiple

AICs attached to it.

Issues are coded on a three tier system:

Tier 1: broad category of problem (benefit, debt etc)

Tier 2: a more detailed breakdown, such as the nature of debt and the type of advice

given.

Tier 3: more precise description of the advice/support given, such as

negotiating repayments with creditor.

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Newcastle

2. National Statistics 2014-15

Nationally, England & Wales, the Citizens Advice service dealt with over 2million enquiries

and helped people with more than 5.5million different problems.

Enquiries 2, 218, 406

Advice Issues 5, 579, 743

2.1 Top 5 Advice Areas Nationally 2014-15

Benefits & Tax Credits

33%

Debt 28%

Housing 8%

Employment 7%

Relationships & Family 5%

All other 19%

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Newcastle

2.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown 2014-15 (National)

Benefits & Tax Credits

Debt Consumer

(non-financial)

Employment

Financial products/ services

Health & community

care Housing

Immigration & asylum

Legal Other

Relationships & family Discrimination

Benefits & tax credits

Debt

Consumer (non-financial)

Employment

Financial products/servicesHealth & communitycareHousing


Legal

Other

Relationships & family

Discrimination

AIC Part 1 Number of Advice Events

% Issues

Benefits & tax credits 1,816,902 33%

Consumer goods & services 147,020 3%

Debt 1,584,504 28%

Education 23,917 0%

Employment 381,705 7%

Financial services & capability 142,522 3%

Health & community care 86,110 2%

Housing 440,966 8%

Immigration & asylum 69,516 1%

Legal 199,456 4%

Other 190,337 3%

Relationships & family 285,272 5%

Tax 47,238 1%

Travel & transport 49,892 1%

Utilities & communications 94,453 2%

Discrimination 19,933 0%

Grand Total 5,579,743 100%

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2.3 Advice Issues Summary (National)

2.4 Top 10 National Benefit Issues

Top 10 Benefit Issues 2014/15 Full Year

No of Issues

% of all benefit

Employment Support Allowance 294,789 16%

Housing Benefit 219,094 12%

Personal independence payment 211,938 12%

Working & Child Tax Credits 176,921 10%

Jobseekers Allowance 109,677 6%

Localised support for council tax 101,565 6%

DLA - Care Component 91,809 5%

Attendance Allowance 58,004 3%

Pension Credit 57,244 3%

Carers Allowance 50,788 3%

0 400,000 800,000 1,200,000 1,600,000 2,000,000


Debt

Housing

Employment



Other

Legal


Health & community care


Discrimination

2014/15Full Year

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2.5 Top 10 National Debt Issues

Top 10 Debt Issues 2014/15 Full Year

No of Issues

% of all debt

Council tax arrears 193,287 12%

Credit, store & charge card 157,191 10%

Unsecured personal loan debts 146,877 9%

Rent arrears (social housing) 96,022 6%

Fuel debts 76,511 5%

Water supply & sewerage debts 73,558 5%

Bank & building society overdrafts 65,123 4%

Telephone debts - landline & mobile 59,893 4%

Catalogue & mail order debts 54,232 3%

Magistrate Court fines & compensation order arrears 46,538 3%

2.6 National Client Demographics 2014-15

0% 50% 100%

Female

Male

Female Male

Percentage 56% 44%

Gender

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Newcastle

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

0 – 16 17 – 24 25 – 34 35 – 49 50 – 64 65 – 74 75 – 84 85 +

Ethnicity Disability

Client with a disability (not including a long-term

health problem) 20.8%

Client with a long-term health problem (excluding

disability) 13.9%

Type of disability (Excluding long-term health problems)

Disabled - type of condition (where known)

Percentage

Disabled - cognitive impairment 1.2%

Disabled - hearing impairment 3.7%

Disabled - learning difficulty 3.7%

Disabled - mental health 40.7%

Disabled - multiple impairments 10.4%

Disabled - physical impairment (non sensory)

37.5%

Disabled - visual impairment 2.9%

Total disabled with known disability type

100.0%

Age

0 – 16 0.10%

17 – 24 8.80%

25 – 34 21.50%

35 – 49 31.40%

50 – 64 25.40%

65 – 74 8.00%

75 – 84 3.80%

85 + 0.90%

Total 100.00%

Age range of clients

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3. Regional Statistics 2014-15

North East.2

In 2014-15 local Citizens Advice in the North East dealt with 119, 784 enquiries and helped

people with 405, 912 different problems.

Enquiries 119, 784

Advice Issues 405,912

3.1 Top 5 Advice Areas: North East 2014-15

2 North East member CABx are: Alnwick, Blyth Valley, County Durham, Darlington, Dawn, Gateshead,

Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumbrian, Redcar & Cleveland, Sedgefield & district, South Tyneside, Stockton & District, Sunderland, Teesdale, Wansbeck, West Northumberland.

Debt 41%


31%

Financial services & capability

5%

Employment 5%

Housing 4%

all other 14%

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3.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown (Regional) 2014-15

AIC Part 1 Number of Advice Events

% Issues

Benefits & tax credits 125,636 31%

Consumer goods & services 7,489 2%

Debt 166,914 41%

Education 906 0%

Employment 18,656 5%

Financial services & capability 21,179 5%

Health & community care 4,453 1%

Housing 15,606 4%

Immigration & asylum 2,511 1%

Legal 8,689 2%

Other 9,688 2%

Relationships & family 11,561 3%

Tax 2,523 1%

Travel & transport 2,705 1%

Utilities & communications 6,672 2%

Discrimination 724 0%

Grand Total 405,912 100%

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3.3 AIC Key Advice Areas Quarterly Breakdown Comparison, 2013-

14/2014-15

North East 2013/14 2013/14 2013/14 2013/14 2014/15 2014/15 2014/15 2014/15

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Benefits & Tax Credits 34963 32322 31339 33393 30188 31658 30655 33037

Consumer Goods & Services 1514 1811 1710 1917 1827 1846 1847 1964

Debt 48509 45759 43026 49329 40283 41638 40022 44917

Discrimination 407 422 373 438 99 230 194 204

Education 195 269 192 190 197 319 197 190

Employment 4568 4545 4237 4753 4579 4731 4393 4931

Financial Products & Services 1411 1471 1442 2255 3311 4622 6445 6795

Health & Community Care 776 833 772 834 937 1154 1117 1243

Housing 4501 4650 3934 4603 4034 4113 3526 3916

Immigration, Asylum & Nationality 660 668 612 598 549 643 555 759

Legal 1955 1821 1763 2035 1848 2098 2097 2632

Other 1572 1972 2173 2643 2061 2546 2644 2423

Relationships & Family 2900 3048 2448 3088 2879 3052 2539 3079

Tax 695 684 460 677 653 623 550 697

Travel, Transport & Holidays 561 502 555 614 674 672 665 692

Utilities & Communications 1249 1092 1614 1593 1513 1707 1782 1666

Total 106436 101869 96650 108960 95632 101652 99228 109145

3.4 Regional Financial Outcomes 2014-15, North East

Income gain £35, 320, 414

Debts written off £25, 369, 895

Repayments rescheduled £7, 807, 551

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4. Local Statistics, Citizens Advice Newcastle, 2014-15

In 2014-15 Citizens Advice Newcastle dealt with 9,087 enquiries regarding 24, 251 different

problems.

Enquiries 9,087

Advice Issues 24, 251

4.1 Top 5 Advice Areas: Newcastle 2014-15

Debt 43%


27%

Housing 5%

Employment 5%


3%

All other 17%

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4.2 AIC Part 1 Breakdown, Newcastle 2014-15

Part 1 Number of Advice Events

% Issues

Benefits & tax credits 6,567 27%

Consumer goods & services 505 2%

Debt 10,423 43%

Education 111 0%

Employment 1,114 5%

Financial services & capability 580 2%

Health & community care 193 1%

Housing 1,137 5%

Immigration & asylum 473 2%

Legal 667 3%

Other 669 3%

Relationships & family 772 3%

Tax 233 1%

Travel & transport 166 1%

Utilities & communications 597 2%

Discrimination 44 0%

Grand Total 24,251 100%


Debt


Employment


Health & community

care Housing


Legal Other

Relationships & family Discrimination


Debt


Employment

Financial products/services


Housing


Legal

Other


Discrimination

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4.3 Advice Issues Summary (Newcastle) 2014-15

4.4 Top 10 Debt Issues (Newcastle) 2014-15

Top 10 Debt Issues 2014/15 Full Year

No of Issues

% of all debt

Council tax arrears 1,315 13%

Unsecured personal loan debts 835 8%

Fuel debts 776 7%

Credit, store & charge card 773 7%

Rent arrears (social housing) 627 6%

Water supply & sewerage debts 535 5%

Telephone debts - landline & mobile 449 4%

Magistrate Court fines & compensation order arrears 416 4%

Bank & building society overdrafts 349 3%

Catalogue & mail order debts 298 3%

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000

Debt



Housing

Employment

Other


Legal




Discrimination

2014/15Full Year

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4.5 Top 10 Welfare Benefit Issues (Newcastle) 2014-15

Top 10 Benefit Issues 2014/15 Full Year

No of Issues

% of all benefit

Employment Support Allowance 1,386 21%

Working & Child Tax Credits 961 15%

Housing Benefit 854 13%

Jobseekers Allowance 721 11%

Personal independence payment 525 8%

Localised support for council tax 292 4%

Income Support 273 4%

DLA - Care Component 264 4%

Child Benefit 237 4%

Pension Credit 208 3%

4.6 Enquiries by Level of Assistance

Adviceline and face-to-face ‘gateway’ triage is the bulk of our workload as we look to

diagnose and resolve problems for clients as swiftly as possible without the delay of waiting

for a full advice appointment. This allows us to prioritise our resources effectively and

ensure that we keep pace with the demand for the service.

60%

25%

15%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Casework

Advice

Gateway

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4.7 Client Numbers and Indices of Multiple Deprivation Maps: Newcastle

upon Tyne, 2014-15

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4.8 Client Demographics Newcastle 2014-15

0% 50% 100%

Female

Male

Female Male

Percentage 52% 48%

Gender

Ethnicity

83%

17% White

BAME

Disability

Client with a disability (excluding long-

term health conditions), 24.7%.

Client with a long-term health problem

(excluding disability), 14.7%.

Disability - type of condition (where known)

Percentage

Disabled - cognitive impairment

0.5%

Disabled - hearing impairment

2.5%

Disabled - learning difficulty 2.4%

Disabled - mental health 41.2%

Disabled - multiple impairments

13.9%

Disabled - physical impairment (non sensory)

36.9%

Disabled - visual impairment 2.5%

Total disabled with known disability type

100.0%

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Household Type Percentage

Couple 13.2%

Couple with dependent children 16.2%

Couple with non-dependent children

3.1%

Single person 41.4%

Single person with dependent children

15.8%

Single person with non-dependent children

3.2%

Other adult only 6.5%

Other with dependent children 0.5%

Total 100.0%

All households with dependent children

32.5%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

10

-14

15

-19

20

-24

25

-29

30

-34

35

-39

40

-44

45

-49

50

-54

55

-59

60

-64

65

-69

70

-74

75

-79

80

-84

85

-89

90

-94

95

-99

Age Percentage

17 – 24 9.9%

25 – 34 24.0%

35 – 49 34.2%

50 – 64 24.5%

Over 65 7.4%

Total 100.0%

Age Range of Clients

Household Type

Housing Tenure Percentage

Buying Home (Mortgage, etc) 10.2%

Own Outright 6.5%

Private Tenant 23.7%

Social Tenant 46.5%

Staying with relatives/friends 2.2%

Homeless/Hostel 8.3%

Shared Ownership 0.2%

Rent-Free Housing 0.6%

Prison 0.0%

Other 1.9%

Total 100.0%

Household Tenure

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5. Impact of Advice

For many of the clients we see seeking help

is a big step and having someone to turn to

in a time of need cannot be understated.

As a result of help from Citizens Advice 4 in

5 clients report they feel less stressed,

depressed or anxious and 1 in 2 said their

physical health improved.3 78% of clients

say that they would not have been able to

resolve their problem without help and

support from us.4

Our advice, support and down-to-earth

knowledge and experience help some of the

most disadvantaged people in our society.

The multiple deprivation and client count

map at 4.7 of this report demonstrates that

we reach some of the most deprived areas

in our locality to deliver advice.

Newcastle is in the bottom 20% of the most

deprived districts in the UK5 and the child

poverty rate is 33%6. We provide a service

that is free and open to everyone on just

about any matter that presents itself, but

we pride ourselves of helping some of the

most in need and vulnerable within our

society and that is a cornerstone of our

service.

3 Citizens Advice National Impact Research 2014.

4 Ibid.

5 Local Authority summary of Multiple Deprivation Indices 2010.

6 https://www.barnardos.org.uk/130212_ecp_local_report_final__2_.pdf The child poverty map of the UK

2013.

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/130212_ecp_local_report_final__2_.pdf

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6. Comment

Nationally, regionally and locally debt and welfare benefits are by some distance the two

key areas we advise upon. This is unsurprising given the cost of living crisis and radical

reforms and cuts to welfare.

Many of our clients face the day-to-day reality of poverty, leaving many seeking our help as

they struggle to pay essential bills such as rent, council tax and fuel/utilities. Further cuts

and overhauls to the benefit system will see those in and out of work continue to seek our

help. In addition low pay, low hours and job insecurity will make it difficult for people to

plan their lives, respond to changing circumstances and afford to live. It is therefore

expected that debt and welfare benefits will persist as the main issues we are called upon to

deal with.

Dealing with the two big issues of debt and benefits alongside a broad and varied gamut of

other matters is a necessary challenge Citizens Advice will have to address on 2015-16 on

behalf of 2.5 million clients nationally and the thousands we help locally.

Citizens Advice Newcastle Andrew P Young (Research & Campaigns Officer) St Cuthbert Chambers Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 5AN [email protected] 0191 229 2750

mailto:[email protected]

citizens advice newcastle advice trends 2015

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