Citizens Advice Charnwood explains how the advice we give for the problems that you bring to us helps Citizens Advice nationally to campaign on the big issues and even inform government policy.
When problems are specifically related to the local area, we can bring the issue to the attention of Charnwood councillors and MPs.

How is this done? Well, whenever anyone comes to us for help, we create a record of the issues raised and the advice we were able to give. That information is recorded on a national database held centrally by Citizens Advice. All the Citizens Advice offices across the country work in the same way, feeding into this database. This enables national Citizens Advice to bring all the information together giving them access to the big picture.

People face far more problems than they should because policy fails them. No-one sees that more than we do at Citizens Advice: we help more people with more problems than anyone else and that gives us a unique insight into the challenges people are facing today.

For instance, 5 million people in Britain, including many who are in work, are now living with a negative budget, meaning their outgoings each month are more than their income. Citizens Advice is helping record the numbers of people across the country who need a food bank referral, who can't afford to turn on their heat or electricity or who've been made homeless. This data helps Citizens Advice to push all political parties and the government to do more to tackle the root causes of hardship and prevent people from falling into debt.

All our insights start with people's stories. From those stories, we build up a complete picture of problems in society. We can see which old issues are increasing and which new problems are just emerging and can still be prevented. We use this knowledge and evidence to campaign at the highest levels. Governments, regulators and companies have all made changes when we've shown them the evidence that policy can solve.

Citizens Advice Charnwood is an independent charity, relying on the support of people like you to make sure we can continue helping local people with the problems they face.

Donations are very welcome and can be made by a one-time or regular monthly donation through Co-op bank for the credit of Citizens Advice Charnwood - Account Number: 65879535 Sort Code: 089299

Or you can send a cheque to:
Citizens Advice Charnwood, Woodgate Chambers, 70 Woodgate, LOUGHBOROUGH, Leicestershire, LE11 2TZ.

More information about our work and other ways to donate can be found on this website - www.charnwoodcab.org.uk -

For people living or working in Charnwood and needing help & advice our LOCAL ENQUIRY LINE is 01509 649605 – open Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays 9.30 - 3.00

Thanks for your support!