CAB Facts

20 things you may not know about the CAB:

The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing free advice and information, and by influencing policymakers.

Citizens Advice (the national organisation) and each Citizens Advice Bureau are registered charities; together forming one of the UK's largest voluntary organisations.

Citizens Advice Bureaux are funded by money from local authorities, Lottery funds, charitable trusts, companies, individuals and others.

The work of the Citizens Advice service impacts on people's lives in thousands of different ways – through advice, campaigns, free skills training for volunteers, empowering individuals, increasing incomes and more.

Citizens Advice Bureaux provide free, independent and impartial information and advice from over 3,200 locations; helping people with over 5.6 million new problems a year.

We have been providing free advice in local communities since 1939.

The Citizens Advice service is a respected source of influence on local and national policy. We use evidence of our clients' problems to campaign for improvements to policies and services.

The Citizens Advice service is well known by the public. 95 per cent have heard of us and 41 per cent have used a CAB at some time in their lives. Only 23 per cent know we are a charity. (MORI 2001)

The Citizens Advice service is both an employer and skills training agency with a workforce of over 26,000 people nationally, the majority of these are trained volunteers.

Our advice is available in bureaux, in community venues such as GP surgeries, in people's homes, on the phone, by email and at www.adviceguide.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureaux are the largest providers of free, independent money advice in the UK.

Debt problems, especially consumer debts, are increasing every year. The average debt brought to our advisers is £10,000. We deal with more than one million new debt issues each year.

Our trained advisers (from all walks of life) can give general advice on anything at all from time shares and benefit claims to unfair dismissal, debt and housing rights.

We have caseworkers who have in-depth knowledge on debt issues, employment, housing and welfare benefits.

The financial contribution of our volunteers nationally is worth around £70 million a year.

CAB advisers can write letters and make phone calls to companies and service providers on people's behalf, help people to prioritise their debts.