The number of people claiming Universal Credit in Westminster has risen 154% since the pandemic began. The local Westminster charity has warned of the “devastating impact” of a scheduled cut to Universal Credit in April. Staff and volunteers at Citizens Advice Westminster have helped nearly 1300 people with Universal Credit since March last year. […]
Citizens Advice Westminster has appointed Joanna Cain as its new Chief Executive Officer. Joanna has wide experience as a leader in the voluntary sector, most recently as Deputy CEO and Director of Education at the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) since 2015. She worked closely with community partners and funders, including local and central government, and […]
As a result of Covid-19, some one in seven (14%) of people have fallen behind on essential bills – including energy, water, mobile phone and broadband bills, council tax, rent or mortgage payments – the equivalent of seven million people in the UK, according to research from Citizens Advice. Westminster Citizen’s Advice volunteer adviser Matthew Taylor explains: “We are […]
Citizens Advice Westminster has been out and about – virtually, of course– in Westminster speaking to residents and stakeholders on key issues such as debt, benefits and housing. Advice Partnership Supervisor Adam Zaki took part in the first ever Westminster City Council’s virtual leaseholder conference on 17 October. The event was opened by David Harvey, council member for […]
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a huge surge in the number of people unable to pay their housing bills, with rent and mortgage arrears mounting, and many people facing eviction and homelessness once lockdown relief measures come to an end. “ I am seeing a rising tide of […]
Westminster Citizens Advice’s unique licensing project, funded by Westminster City Council, has had another winning year with 178 new enquiries opened in 2020, compared to 163 the previous year. Licensing solicitor Richard Brown represented residents at 39 hearings; advised on 19 cases where representations were withdrawn following agreement with the applicant; and dealt with a further […]
A new advice service and helpline is now open for EU nationals living in Westminster. Funded by Westminster City Council, the service will ensure that the 30,000 EU nationals living in the borough get the best advice about the EU Settlement Scheme. The helpline will operate on Tuesday and Thursday mornings specifically for EU queries, and […]
Happy New Year and welcome to the Winter 2020/21 edition of Focus. This time last year we returned to work with no idea of how our personal and working lives would be disrupted, and for such a long period. I said in my December message that we should look forward to the “new different”, but […]
As we approach the end of this year, there are sure to be many reflections on what we have lived through. We have already had the chance in our annual report and at the AGM to look back over 2020. We have seen that we have served many clients and played a vital role […]
Christmas is a time of giving, but you don’t want to give yourself a headache in the New Year with bills and debts you can’t afford. It’s all too easy to overspend as there are tempting offers and pressures to buy, so it’s a good idea to decide how much you can afford before you […]
