Fans of live events are set to benefit from new rules which will demand more information from sellers on secondary ticket websites. Under the new rules, which will come into force in April, ticket resellers will be required to provide purchasers with additional detailed information about tickets including the location of seats, disclosure of any restrictions and the original price of the ticket itself. Continue reading New rules introduced to protect consumers against ticket touting
The rollout of Universal Credit should be paused until significant problems with it are fixed, says Citizens Advice. In a new report – Delivering on Universal Credit – the charity reveals that the requirement to wait for six weeks to receive any payment means people face serious financial insecurity, with many being forced into debt. Continue reading Universal Credit forcing families into debt, says report
Local MP praises work of Citizen Advice service
Mark Lazarowicz MP has pledged his support for Citizen’s Advice’s new campaign at a reception held to celebrate the charity’s 75th birthday. The Advice for the Future campaign aims to highlight the importance of free, impartial advice and get 100,000 people pledging their support.
Citizens Advice has launched the campaign as rising household bills, changes to the welfare system and a troubled jobs market mean that for many life is getting increasingly complicated. This means it’s even more important that people can access free, relevant and impartial advice to help make complex decisions.
Citizens Advice Scotland, the Scottish counterpart to Citizens Advice, opened its first bureau in September 1939 and so will also be celebrating its 75th anniversary later this year.
The North and Leith MP said: “I know from my work as a constituency MP just how valuable the service provided by Citizens Advice is to constituents: free, independent, impartial and trusted.
“The major changes to the benefit system introduced by this Government, sharply rising energy bills and the difficulty that many households have in just keeping their heads above water have left many more people turning to Citizens Advice for help.
“It has also used its first hand experience in dealing with the practical problems people face to contribute positively to debate on public policy which is why I and other Opposition MPs fought so hard against the restrictions that the Lobbying Act would have placed on charities.
“Largely run by volunteers though publicly funded, it supports the vulnerable and indeed anyone who needs advice: our society would struggle to cope without it.”
Citizens Advice celebrates its 75th anniversary this year:
• In 2013/14 the charity helped 2 million people to solve 5.5 million problems
• In 2012/13, 22,000 volunteers donated nearly 7 million hours to the service
• This amounts to a contribution of £109 million worth of volunteering hours.
Around eighty people attended North Edinburgh’s first ever Dosh Day at North Edinburgh Arts Centre this afternoon, taking the opportunity to find out how they can cut their costs and maximise their household income.
The event was organised by the Lottery-funded Money Matters project. Castle Rock Edinvar’s Head of Neighbourhood Regeneration Heather McNaughton explained: “A group of Housing Associations in Edinburgh work together with the Citizens Advice Edinburgh to help tenants to access debt advice and to encourage people to use support to maximise their income and remain out of unsustainable debt. As part of the project we had previously co-ordinated a “Dosh Day” in Craigmillar which was very successful and we are now bringing the concept to North Edinburgh with the kind support of local organisations and agencies.”
Citizens Advice Bureaux, Granton Information Centre, Community Renewal, JobCentre Plus, Cyrenians and Volunteer Centre Edinburgh were among the organisations attending on the day, so there was no shortage of sound financial advice.
