Aims & principles of Citizens Advice
The Citizens Advice service provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. It values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination.
Our service aims:
- To give people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem.
- To improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives
Our local services
We offer three services to the residents of West Berkshire:
Our generalist advice service can provide information and advice in most areas. We can also signpost and refer on to other organisations that may be better placed to assist.
Our Pension Age Project, funded by the Household Support Fund, gives us extra capacity to help with welfare benefit and poverty advice for people of pensionable age in West Berkshire.
Our Carers Advice Team can help with disability benefit forms such as Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance. We can also provide information and advice on getting support from adult social care.
The Trustee Board
All local Citizens Advice offices are local independent charities, governed by their own board of trustees, who are ultimately responsible for the quality and range of the service. Day-to-day control is delegated to the managers although the trustees:
- hold staff accountable, and are ultimately accountable for the activities of Citizens Advice West Berkshire
- provide leadership to all at Citizens Advice West Berkshire
- develop policy
- provide strategic management
- are responsible for compliance with relevant laws and Citizens Advice membership requirements