Services for All
I WILL shortly be speaking at the annual general meeting of Wakefield Citizens' Advice Bureau on the theme of Access to All.
This means access to advice services and help for all those in society, not just those who can afford to pay for it. Often those who are most in need of free help and advice are the least able to get access to services.
While the rich are able to employ top-class barristers and accountants and can find their way around the system using the network of advice that is available on the internet and elsewhere, those lacking in money and skills are stuck, not knowing where to turn for advice.
This is where the Citizens Advice Bureau, local MPs and councillors can help. The Citizens' Advice Bureau in Wakefield deals with hundreds of queries every year and often has to turn people away due to the demand for services.
Understandably, the service has to prioritise the most vulnerable in society and the moment the service is only able to see in person about 20 to 25 per cent of the people who make initial telephone calls. This is extremely worrying.
Many of those who are not able to receive advice from the CAB end up in my advice surgeries and although MPs can help with certain problems, we do not generally have the specialist training to help with legal issues or give specific debt advice in the same way that the CAB can.
It is vital therefore that the CAB and other free legal services remain accessible to all.
Access to free advice services for all sits squarely within the government's aim of tackling socialexclusion. Dealing with problems at an early stage can often mean that individuals avoid further complications in often chaotic lives.
Free advice services can actually save the government and the taxpayer money in the long term.
According to the government's own research paper Getting Earlier, Better Advice to Vulnerable People, the most vulnerable people need a greater level of help, and good telephone or face-to-face advice is vitally important.
These people are often unable to engage effectively with, and do not trust, the person or organisation with which they have a dispute. Instead, they are more likely to trust and be willing to work with independent advice services.
Moreover, the report also explains that unresolved problems and disputes seriously affect people's lives.
There are also significant knock-on costs to public services, especially for the NHS, Department for Work and Pensions, and the police whose services and resources become the focal points for people with problems.
The total annual cost to individuals and public services is at least 3.5 billion each year. The CAB also provides a vital resource for MPs with its campaigning work.
For example, campaigners highlighted the changes that were needed to the tax credit system, calling for the government to stop problems caused by overpayments of tax credits.
The service has also run campaigns on problems with utility companies and access to free cash machines.
This service is vital to our local communities and I am looking forward to talking with local volunteers who will be making such a difference to the community through their services.
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
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Tomorrow
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Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
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