Citizens Advice Service in Three Rivers
RivRivers
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 5082066. Registered Charity No. 1104392
Registered office: Northway House, High Street, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 1EH
CASTR Social Outing to Mini Plant 25.5.2016
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
It is with sadness and much trepidation that I present my first report as Chair. Sadness
because I take over following the death of our previous chair, Andy Appleby, and trepidation
because Andy will be a very difficult act to follow. As mentioned elsewhere in the annual
report Andy had been involved with the CAB since 1995 until his death on 7 November last
year and his influence can be felt over the whole organisation. He will be greatly missed.
We live in challenging times and the recent Brexit vote has only served to increase
uncertainties. This has led to an increase in demand for our services and I am pleased to
report that our staff and volunteers have stepped up to the mark and dealt with all the work
and issues thrown at them.
We are always looking at ways to expand and improve our service to clients and the
community. In addition to face to face meetings at each bureau we provide out of hours
appointments at South Oxhey, telephone advice through Adviceline, outreaches in South
Oxhey, Mill End and South Bucks and an email service. Recently we have started providing
advice by webchat and we are now also on Twitter! More details about our services are
provided elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Looking to the future, the next few years will be no less challenging which means we must
continue to improve the delivery of our services in order to satisfy the demand from clients
as well as demonstrating continuing value for money to our funders. We are most grateful to
each and every one of our funders for the grants they provide, whatever the amount, and
the faith they show in us to deliver a quality and cost effective service. We also have to plan
for a move from our current premises at Oxhey when the redevelopment of the area gets
underway.
Finally I would like to express my sincere thanks to my fellow Trustees for all their advice
and support since I took over as Chair, to all our staff who ensure the continued high quality
of advice given to clients and a huge thank you to our volunteers for all their hours of
dedicated unpaid service.
Paul Shaw
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.
The service aims:
 to provide the advice people need for the problems they face,
and
 to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.
1
Annual
Report
2015/16
CONTENTS
Chairman’s Report
Honorary Treasurer’s Report
Research and Campaigns
Dashboard
Debt Advice Supervisor’s
Report
Debt Advice Case Study
Debt Advice
Court Desk
Debt Relief Orders
Budgeting Adviser
Advice Session Supervisor’s
Report
Casework
Training Supervisor’s Report
Trainee Adviser’s Report
Apprentice Report
I.T. Report
Local Impact Report
Service Managers’ Report
Obituaries
District Manager’s Report
Board, Members, Staff and
Volunteers
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3
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5
6
7
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10
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TREASURER’S REPORT
In 2016 total income amounted to £530,392 compared with £562,636 in 2015 a reduction of £32,244. As in previous periods the
largest source of income is from Three Rivers District Council in the form of a general grant of £257,340 and free accommodation for
the Rickmansworth and Oxhey bureaus valued at £46,000. The grant from Three Rivers is supplemented by other grants that enable
us to maintain our high level of services. In 2016 we have received the balance of a two year grant from the National Lottery
amounting to £42,279 to provide closer partnership working in Three Rivers; the following grants from Hertfordshire County Council,
£19,551 to provide energy saving measures across the county in conjunction with the other bureaux in Hertfordshire, £9,323 for
welfare assistance and £17,158 to employ and train an apprentice; £24,000 from Thrive Homes to provide money advice at the
Oxhey bureau; £28,900 from South Bucks District Council to provide a CAB service in South Buckinghamshire; £13,123 from South
Bucks District Council and £4,667 from London & Quadrant to provide money advice in South Buckinghamshire; £7,752 from Abbots
Langley PCC for the rent of the Abbots Langley premises; £4,000 from Watford Rural Parish Council to fund a part time case worker
at the Oxhey bureau and £2,000 from Abbots Langley Parish Council to fund a part time caseworker at the Abbots Langley bureau.
In addition we received other restricted grants totalling £15,857 which are detailed in the accounts. We are, as always, most grateful
for the continued and generous support we receive from Three Rivers and the grants received, both large and small, from the other
funding bodies.
Expenditure in 2016 was £455,798 compared with £532,442 in 2015. Excluding direct charitable expenditure of £25,735, leaves
expenditure of £430,063. By far the largest element of expenditure is on staff which, including training and travel, totalled £302,296
(2015: £302,293) which is 70% of total expenses. Premises costs amounted to £76,173 (18%) and all other overheads totalled
£51,594 (12%). The overall result is a surplus for the year on general funds of £39,569 compared with £32,926 in the previous year.
The surplus is added to the unrestricted reserves brought forward leaving funds carried forward of £398,851.
In these uncertain times the Board’s policy is one of caution by maintaining adequate reserves to cover any shortfall in funding. The
Board have set a reserves policy that requires the minimum free reserves be equal to at least 9 months’ annual operating
expenditure. On current levels of budgeted expenditure this gives a target figure of £318,000. From the balance on unrestricted funds
of £398,851, £72,000 has been set aside for redundancy and pension costs, £45,000 for building repairs and possible bureau
relocation and £10,000 for computer replacement. This leaves us free reserves of £271,851 which is £46,149 below the target level
set by the Board.
Copies of the full accounts of the Charity prepared in accordance with the latest Statement of Recommended Practice are available
from the office on request.
Paul Shaw
RESEARCH AND CAMPAIGNS
This year the Research & Campaigns team worked from the ground up, using both statistical and qualitative information provided by
our clients. The wealth of evidence allows us to identify and act upon issues that affect our clients most, namely defects in the
benefits process and proportional increased reliance on food banks.
Taking action
Claimants of Employment and Support Allowance are obliged to attend a work capability assessment. As nearly forty percent of our
clients are disabled, the journey to and from Neasden assessment centre is problematic. For many, the two hour wait to see the
assessment panel ends in them being told they must return another day. As the assessment does not take place, clients are then
marked as ‘no show’ and incur benefit sanctions. The campaigns team questioned Neasden assessment centre’s counter
productiveness, and asked for a site nearer home. Communication with MPs and Employment Ministers is now underway.
Local to national support for change
In October 2015, Universal Credit, the replacement to five means tested benefits, came into effect in Three Rivers. Yet, even in its
limited form, as it is currently only available to single claimants, it precipitates confusion and despair. Reasons are many. Vulnerable
claimants, unaware of their responsibility to pay their respective landlord directly, fall into rent arrears. Others misunderstand
questions on the online claim and then face payment delays. The campaigns team has identified that UC’s ‘one size fits all’ policy
does not work and has met with JobCentre Plus to resolve issues. Our findings have been accepted by Citizens Advice’s central
social policy team. They have used it as case evidence for the Department of Works & Pensions Inquiry into the future of JobCentre
Plus.
Local Success
The rising demand for food vouchers as a means of crisis intervention revealed a distribution crisis of its own. Voucher recipients in
Abbots Langley have no means of collecting a food parcel unless they travel to Watford, a distance of over 3 miles. With no money
to buy food, the £8.00 return bus fare to the town means the use of a foodbank is usually prohibitive. Alerting the Rickmansworth
food bank manager to the problem prompted her to discuss the matter with the Abbots Langley Parish Church authorities. St
Lawrence’s church office agreed to provide food boxes from 1 August 2016, with the qualifying vouchers to be issued by Abbots CAB
next door.
Purposeful Research
With a strong conviction, that saying someone is on a ‘low-income’ is simply not enough, a report on food voucher allocations is in
progress. Its aim is twofold: to identify the primary recipients and the underlying problems, and achieve a flexible DWP benefit
delivery. On completion, the report will be submitted to councillors, MPs, and partner organisations.
Avgi Yiannaki
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DEBT ADVICE SUPERVISOR
First of all I’d like to thank Karen for covering this role whilst I was on maternity leave and secondly I’d like to thank all the debt
advisers for their continued professionalism in their work. I returned to work at the beginning of this year following almost a year’s
maternity leave, and although I miss being home with the babies, I have to admit it is a well-balanced break.
I am pleased to report that our newly designed Money Advice Pack has been in use for the past few months. It is now shorter,
concise and user friendly. Thank you all for your contribution to make this happen.
We now have 2 more authorised debt relief order intermediaries within our service; both Peta and I started completing online
applications from March 2016. We cover Abbots and Oxhey clients, with Jane handling Rickmansworth and South Bucks. DROs
continue to be a very attractive option for many of our clients since the debt limit has now been increased to £20,000 and the
demand for this service continues to rise.
Claire Skipsey has now been fully trained as a debt adviser and has been in post since October 2015. Thanks to Karen for taking on
this task during my absence. I am now working with another new money adviser and it is anticipated that the new money adviser will
be in post during this summer.
We continue to experience a high demand for debt advice casework and we are very pleased to have highly experienced money
advisers across our 4 bureaux offering this service.
Jessica Foulds
DEBT ADVICE CASE STUDY
This client came to us in November 2015 for help with rent arrears and priority utility and council tax debts. Our client is a single
parent with a 3 year old child and relies totally on benefits. Both have serious health issues requiring many visits to several different
hospitals which has led to high transport costs.
Her housing association had obtained a Suspended Possession Order (SPO) allowing her to stay in her property if she agreed to pay
£30.11/week towards rent arrears. Our client, unrepresented, agreed under pressure to accept this repayment amount. This was
unaffordable so the client ended up with a court order shortfall of £864.41. At an eviction panel the housing association decided they
would apply for a warrant to evict our client if the whole amount of the shortfall was not paid in full within 3 weeks. The client was
financially unable to do this.
We were able to help this client by:
1) obtaining a grant from a local charity for the whole of the court order shortfall;
2) helping her to apply to the court for a variation in the terms of the court order to a more affordable £5/week based on a realistic
assessment of her financial situation; we also helped her to apply for full remission of court costs;
3) assisting the client in obtaining a grant of £140 for help with electricity costs and ensuring she is registered for Cold Weather
payments;
4) negotiating with bailiffs to reduce payments for council tax debt to a more affordable level from £9.50/week to £3.70/week;
5) giving advice on how to claim healthcare travel costs for those on relevant benefits;
6) offering free budgeting advice to help her manage her outgoings going forward.
At the recent court hearing in June 2016 to vary the SPO, the housing association agreed the new terms of current rent plus £5/week
towards the arrears. Our client is very happy with this outcome.
Jill Shippey
DEBT ADVICE
-Mental health issues feature increasingly in our debt cases. Anxiety and depression are common problems and other more complex
psychological issues present us and our clients with big challenges. This means they can struggle to engage with us but we do not
give up easily. We work hard to challenge bailiffs and creditors to encourage them to deal with vulnerable people fairly according to
official rules and guidelines, and we do have success in obtaining write offs and fairer repayment terms for our clients.
-High rents in the private rented sector are making housing unaffordable for many. Finding a deposit plus a few months rent in
advance is very difficult, if not impossible. Many people take on debt to cover rent and essential living costs but in the long term this
is unsustainable and they come to us with the debts incurred. We advise such clients on housing options/homelessness
legislation/court repossession action and represent them in court as appropriate as well as helping them deal with their debts. We
also continue to assist those in rent arrears in social housing.
-Zero hour contracts cause huge problems for our clients who are claiming benefits as their entitlement changes frequently and they
often end up with benefit overpayments which they must pay back on top of an already low income. We always do a benefit check to
make sure our clients are claiming everything they are entitled to.
-Insolvency options continue to offer our clients a fresh start and we assist several of our clients with applications for bankruptcy and
debt relief orders.
Jill Shippey
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COURT DESK
Court desk work is highly complex as it requires us to undertake consultation, negotiation and representation within a very limited
time. Our aim is to prevent homelessness and help the clients to remain in their home. In addition we are also in court to ensure
clients get a reasonable and justifiable order. We have a very good working relationship with the court usher and the judges are very
pleased to have us present too.
We helped one client in May 2016 who was facing eviction from the lender. The warrant of eviction was due to be executed at
11.30am on the same day as we were on court desk duty. The client made an N244 application an hour before the eviction was due
to take place and consulted us for advice and assistance.
She suffers from mental health problems and had accrued mortgage arrears of around £7,000.00. We represented her on her
application to suspend the warrant and also to vary the previous suspended possession order. The lender’s representative had strict
instructions to oppose the application and was not open to any negotiations prior to the hearing. We represented the client before a
district judge and submitted that our client is a vulnerable adult as is her elderly mother who lives with her; both would have to rely on
the local authority’s housing assistance if the eviction was to be carried out. We argued that the client should be given a suspended
order to allow her to sell her property in the open market to gain the maximum profit. In addition we made an offer to pay towards the
arrears by way of an installment and the amount of our offer was well below the “Norgan Principle” offer. The judge accepted our
arguments and allowed the client’s application to suspend the eviction, and also varied the order as proposed. No order for costs was
made at the hearing. This was the best result the client could have asked for.
Jessica Foulds
DEBT RELIEF ORDERS
A Debt Relief Order (DRO) is a simplified, quicker and cheaper alternative to bankruptcy suitable for debtors who have few or no
assets and little disposable income. As an approved DRO Intermediary I have been completing applications on behalf of Three
Rivers’ debt clients since DROs were introduced in 2009.
For many clients, having debts reduces their day to day income as payments are taken directly for overdrafts, credit card interest,
utility debts, benefit overpayments and council tax arrears and the debts tend to increase. In these cases a DRO will immediately
result in an increase in their income.
Often a client’s debts are caused by circumstances beyond their control. One of our clients was unaware until she separated from
her partner that he had built up significant debt on their joint accounts which she was jointly liable for and had no prospect of
repaying. A DRO meant she could clear her liability for these and make a fresh start.
Being in debt affects all aspects of a client’s life and it’s rewarding to see how the instant lifting of their debt burden offered by a DRO
improves a client’s mental health as well as their on-going financial situation.
Jane Brown
BUDGETING ADVISER
Earlier this year I started a new role as a budgeting adviser, working 5 hours per week. The post is funded by Santander for one
year.
The aim of budgeting advice is to help clients take control of their finances and stay out of debt. It can be useful where clients are:

about to apply for a Debt Relief Order or bankruptcy and this can help them to stay debt-free afterwards;

moving onto Universal Credit and managing a monthly budget and rent payments for the first time;

generally struggling to manage their finances.
I tailor the sessions to each client's particular needs, but we usually cover:

priority vs non-priority expenditure;

ways to reduce outgoings and maximise income;

how to build up a contingency fund/savings;

practical ways of monitoring and sticking to a new budget;

how to manage cash flows into and out of the bank.
Each client receives a folder to help them organise their budgeting and financial paperwork. I will hold reviews with each client
(either in person or over the phone) after two months to determine outcomes and clients are welcome to come back for further advice
at a later stage.
I cover all four CASTR bureaux in rotation, and advisers make an appointment for the next available session in a bureau’s general
diary.
Claire Skipsey
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ADVICE SESSION SUPERVISOR
The role of the Advice Session Supervisor is one which grows and expands as Citizens Advice develops in our changing and
increasingly technological world. Certainly there is never any ‘resting on the job’ and there are always new skills to be developed
both for supervisors and hardworking advisers.
Citizens Advice have extended the service to provide a number of ways the public can use to gain information and advice.
Although the majority of clients continue to visit the bureau for advice, a significant number of people use the telephone advice
service of Adviceline. Advisers are often able to help resolve questions for clients who phone but it is sometimes necessary to pass
clients onto their local bureau for further help when a client’s issues are complex or items of paperwork need to be seen.
As advisers and supervisors, our skills in using computer technology continue to advance as Citizens Advice now use webchat and
email as a means of giving advice to clients. Webchat is a new and useful way for clients to access the service and one which is in
demand. The advice given on Webchat is frequently more ‘light touch’ than we would generally give in face to face interviews with
clients, and the speed of response between client and adviser seems to be almost instant but it has had the added side effect of
improving the speed of our typing skills!
I think it would be fair to say that the vast majority of advisers prefer seeing and talking to clients; however we recognise that many
people are not always able to get to a bureau and the new approaches can be a useful starting point for them when wanting to seek
advice. As supervisors we are thankful to the advisers, all volunteers, for their good humour and adaptability in responding to the
changes in the service. It is thanks to their experience, skills and diligence that as supervisors we are able to manage our advice
sessions to provide such a comprehensive information service to the public in Three Rivers and South Bucks.
Gaynor Hartle
CASEWORK
I have been the welfare benefits caseworker at Abbots Langley Citizens Advice for three years now. During the past year I have seen
an increase in the number of disability benefit claimants taking their claims to appeal, particularly for Personal Independence
Payment, the benefit for claimants under 65 for help with everyday life and which replaces Disability Living Allowance. A new meanstested benefit for people of working age with a low income, Universal Credit, was introduced in Three Rivers November 2015.
Universal Credit replaces various other means tested benefits, currently for single claimants with no children.
Very few decisions for claims which are refused are being changed at the reconsideration stage, which is an additional procedure
introduced in 2013, and these decisions are having to go to appeal. All the appeals where I have represented clients at tribunal in the
past year have been successful and this has gained more than £30,000 per year for these clients.
Alan Freeman
Alan Freeman, Caseworker at Abbots CAB, receiving his
grant certificate from the Chair of Abbots Parish Council,
Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst
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TRAINING SUPERVISOR
Over the past 12 months we have taken on 9 new volunteer advisers, most of whom are still at various stages of their training.
Citizens Advice has also updated and overhauled their training materials, and we are now providing training under this new model.
The main focus of the training model is on developing the skills needed to work with clients. Trainees will also develop their
understanding of the most common enquiry areas, including benefits, debt and housing.
During their training, volunteers attend sessions together, to allow them to discuss queries with their training supervisor and to share
learning opportunities with each other. They also observe experienced advisers to gain insight into what it is like to work with clients.
As part of their on-going learning and development, qualified advisers and gateway assessors are also encouraged to attend training
on new policy areas and to refresh their skills.
We recently ran two training sessions on benefits calculation software at our Rickmansworth and Abbots Langley CABs.
“The training was practical and helpful, giving me more confidence using QuickBen, and making me aware of other resources for
benefits checks.” Gareth Jones
Vicky Santamaria
A trainee listening in to an Adviceline call
TRAINEE ADVISER
Having heard that I was taking early retirement, my neighbour mentioned that she worked at CAB and thought that I might be
interested in volunteering.
After a long career in the BBC Archives, I was looking for something more to stimulate me than lunches with friends and pottering in
the garden, although I wanted to make sure I had time for that as well! Training as an adviser for this vital service seemed as if it
would fit the bill and, as I only moved into the Three Rivers area last year, CAB also offered me the opportunity to find out more
about the issues facing my local community.
I started my training at the end of last year and have now been taking Herts Adviceline calls in the South Oxhey bureau since Easter.
Dealing with queries as wide-ranging as nuisance neighbours, power of attorney, imminent evictions and parking fines has certainly
kept me on my toes!
I had my final assessment recently and hope to be signed off as a competent Gateway Assessor in the near future.
The next stage will be full adviser training. I know this will challenge me even further but that I will continue to have the support of the
dedicated managers, supervisors and volunteers who work for Three Rivers CAB.
Jane Parnham
“Dear Karen
It was such a relief to have met you yesterday. I
had been so frightened before I came. I seriously
appreciate all your help and advice”
“Dear CAB Life-Savers
Please accept these mince pies as a token of deep
appreciation of your incredible support and
assistance for beleaguered citizens in difficulty. With
humble thanks……”
“Thank you to all at CAB – saying thank you never
seems enough. A sincere heartfelt thanks from ……”
7
“Superb help and compassion”
APPRENTICE
My name is William Robinson, and I have just recently completed my 1 year apprenticeship at Three Rivers Citizens Advice Bureau.
This past year has been invaluable to me as a person and I feel as though I have learnt more in the time I have spent here, training,
working and speaking with clients, than I have in my whole working life. The amount of people in the public who are left behind and
so do not know about important issues that affect them greatly and so require our assistance is staggering, and I feel honoured to be
able to be a part of the Citizens Advice charity. Everyone I have met and worked with whilst being here has been incredibly helpful
and friendly to me, which is testament to the kind of organisation Citizens Advice is. I have been repeatedly thrust out of my comfort
zone, and thanks to the training and support network behind me, consisting of the rest of the gateway assessors and advisers, I have
always felt as though, despite the cases being tough, I have been able to complete them and help the public in such a way that
would be impossible without Citizens Advice. Working here has been an incredible experience and I look forward to the rest of my
employment within Citizens Advice.
William Robinson
IT REPORT
A busy year; when funds became available, as planned, we replaced the remaining 13 old computers at the Abbots Langley bureau.
The additional Office licences were purchased in August when we were able to acquire them at the rate available to charities via ttexchange. These were deployed in Oxhey and South Bucks bureaux.
Attention then turned to the servers at Oxhey and South Bucks. The aim has been to have as near possible identical server setups
at each bureau and this year we took a big step in the right direction. We were fortunate that it was possible to get funding for both
the hardware and the extra paid hours needed for setting up the equipment and both the South Oxhey and South Bucks servers
were replaced.
In July all our email accounts were transferred to Gmail; it was straightforward and simply took time for the administration tasks
associated with the move and then time for our email users to familiarise themselves with it. There were IT tasks associated with
Petra and the much needed move to Internet Explorer 11 which had been delayed until it was cleared for Petra. In addition, we are
always looking at IT security and time was spent tweaking settings to improve the security of our client information.
Maintenance and the usual trouble-shooting of minor hardware and software issues is on-going across the four bureaux. We use
the “Offline” version of Advisernet as backup in bureaux and on all our laptops which are used at outreach locations where it is not
always possible to have access to the internet. The latest version is made available on a Sunday evening and has to be downloaded
outside the hours of 9am and 3.30pm - this is not ideal and hopefully will change.
Feedback from debt advisers, who have been looking at the new money advice section available via Petra, has been positive so it is
likely that PG DEBT, which is no longer fully supported, will be phased out next year. The package has served our bureaux well .
A very useful IT Discussion Group Meeting was held in November, and we look forward to more of these in the future.
Looking ahead to next year, April 2016 to March 2017, we have funds available and plans to replace the old Abbots Langley server,
finally bringing all bureaux in line. The Citizens Advice Help Desk will be transferred to Birmingham in the summer with some loss of
the current staff; this is a chance to thank them for their help and wish them well. Also on the horizon is the replacement for Petra,
the client recording system, and we look forward to finding out more about it.
Morella Boon and Gordon Campbell
Last year we gained £1m extra
income for our clients – money to
boost local economy. Thanks to
@ThreeRiversDC for funding us to
achieve this
Our foodbank worker helped client
with care of grandchildren to win
ESA appeal - £5000 backpay and
£30 pw more – no longer needs
#foodbanks
8
Watch out for fake lottery
tickets. If you didn’t enter,
you haven’t won!
#scamaware
THE IMPACT OF CAB ADVICE
In 2015/16, for every £1 invested in the Citizens Advice service in
England and Wales, we generated at least:
£1.52
£8.08
£10.97
in fiscal benefits
Savings to government:
Reduction in health
service demand, local
authority homelessness
services, and out-of-work
benefits for clients and
volunteers.
Total: £361 million
in public value
Wider economic and
social benefits:
Improvements in
participation and
productivity for clients
and volunteers.
Total: £1.9 billion
in benefits to individuals
Value to our clients:
Income gained through
benefits gained, debts
written off and
consumer problems
resolved.
Total: 2.6 billion
We are one of over 300 independent local charities that make up the Citizens
Advice network
How the Citizens Advice service has
helped to change lives nationally in 2015/16:
1 in 2
had more money
or control over
their finances
1 in 5
Nearly 1 in 5
had better
relationships with
other people
found it easier to
do their job or
find a job
9
SERVICE MANAGERS’ REPORT
This year has seen our advisers having to deal with a number of new challenges. These have arisen from changes in the benefit
system, changes within the organisation of Citizens Advice and new ways of delivering our service.
With the gradual introduction of Universal Credit, our advisers are having to deal with helping those clients who remain on the ‘old’
benefits (such as Job Seekers Allowance) as well as advise those who are now in receipt of Universal Credit, with a different set of
rules and regulations. These benefit changes also have an impact on other agencies (such as housing associations), causing them
to alter their approach in certain situations, which then impacts on our clients who turn to us for advice and assistance.
Within our national organisation we have seen changes in the audit process which has resulted in a new regular monthly audit of
cases. This has involved training for all of us on the new system and we appreciate the time and effort everyone involved in our
service has put into this, including all of our advisers and our ASSes.
Citizens Advice have introduced a new mode of delivering our service – webchat – and we are now providing a webchat service.
This offers clients an alternative method of contacting us for assistance and the majority of our advisers have now completed the
training for delivering assistance via Webchat. When our advisers come into bureau they may never be sure whether they will be
seeing clients face to face, assisting them on the telephone or assisting them via email or webchat. The willingness of our advisers
to work in whichever way is needed is greatly appreciated!
All of the above means that we have been asking more and more of our great team of ASSes, caseworkers and volunteer advisers,
IT and admin support and we express our thanks to all as they have faced these changes head on and continue to strive to do the
best for all of our clients. To have an advice service which is free at the point of delivery is a great asset to our society and we are
sure that our clients and therefore our society as a whole would be in a far worse situation without such a service. We are very proud
to be a part of such a service and are extremely grateful to all of those who give their time and energies to Citizens Advice in Three
Rivers as we would not be able to deliver this service without you all.
Karen Schirn
Our grateful thanks to……….
Three Rivers District Council for their
support and funding, and to their staff for
working in partnership with us.
The statutory agencies,
with whom we work, for
the benefit of our clients.
Colleagues in the voluntary
sector working under the
same constraints.
The trustee board for their wider vision of
community work, and the commitment
and support they give to the staff and
volunteers.
The paid staff of the bureau who
give so much more than the
required hours.
The team without whom CASTR would not exist –
the volunteers, professional in their approach,
dedicated to the service they provide and totally
committed to our aims and principles.
OBITUARIES
We are sad to report the death of our Chairman, Andy Appleby, who died in November 2015, aged 73.
Andy joined Rickmansworth CAB as treasurer in 1995, and became Chairman in 1999 until its merger with
Abbots Langley and South Oxhey CABs in 2004, when he became Chair of the newly formed Citizens
Advice Service in Three Rivers, a role which he held until he died. He played a huge role in facilitating the
merger of the 3 local CABs
Andy had strong connections to Three Rivers. His children attended a local school where he was Chairman
of the PTA. Prior to his retirement he worked as a BP executive and subsequently treasurer of Camelot in
Three Rivers.
He always demonstrated a great balance of ‘a healthy disregard for authority’ with real concern that the
needs of the most vulnerable were being met.
We are sorry to learn of the death of Aelwyn Edwards, aged 96. Aelwyn and his wife Kath both worked as
advisers at Abbots for many years, Aelwyn latterly in admin, meticulously reconciling the petty cash
statements until only a year or two before he died.
Aelwyn had a marvellously dry sense of humour, once remarking that he had become an actuary as it was
for people who ‘found accountancy too exciting’.
10
DISTRICT MANAGER’S REPORT
The year under review has been tinged with deep sadness due to the death of our dear chairman, Andy Appleby, who was always a
staunch supporter of our service, eager to have updates even when he was extremely ill. We are pleased that Paul Shaw, our
treasurer, has stepped into the chair’s role and wish him well.
Our client numbers have increased by 9% compared with the previous year, indicating the ever increasing demand for our service.
Our core funding, which comes from Three Rivers district council, enables us to provide CAB drop-in advice in 3 CABs in Three
Rivers, and we would not be able to open our doors without this support. As a result of this funding, we gained just over £1,000,000
during 2015/16 in extra income for Three Rivers residents, money to boost the local economy. This also represents a return of almost
400% on our core grant from TRDC. We receive top up debt advice funding from Thrive Homes, to provide debt and budgeting
advice to Thrive tenants. We also have a one year funded budgeting adviser post, to embed a clear and structured form of budgeting
advice into our service, which can be continued by volunteers at each bureau once the funding has ended. Our financial literacy
courses in schools have continued this year, with one school requesting five back to back sessions in one morning for their year 12s,
in our bid to equip school leavers with essential budgeting skills to manage their finances going forward as either students or
employees.
We have received funding support from Herts County Council to provide crisis support to clients at foodbanks, as well as Herts
Healthy Homes funding, again from Herts County Council, for the county CABs to provide home visits on any generalist advice issue
in their district.
Our Abbots CAB has funding for a new phone service, and we have received a grant from Citizens Advice to start offering advice
through webchat, which is proving interesting as a new channel for our clients to use to access advice. We are also now on Twitter,
with over 200 followers, and some our tweets have been retweeted by the local council and the Herts police and crime commissioner
– another new channel, this time for us to spread the word about how we can help local residents.
Our thanks as ever to the parish councils in Abbots and South Oxhey for their grants to fund a part time caseworker and homevisitor
at our CABs in these 2 areas of the district. This role simply would not exist without their funding, and each caseworker generates up
to £100,000 pa in extra income for their local residents.
Other sources of extra income include talks in the community on budgeting and energy savings from Ofgem, a rent subsidy from the
landlord of our Abbots CAB, a Back to Work Programme advice service which we manage across 6 counties, a management fee for
running a CAB in South Bucks, funding to deliver talks to luncheon clubs and a new project, funded by Martin Lewis, to pilot giving
CAB advice through local pharmacies in areas of the district without local access to our CABs.
Our South Bucks CAB is funded and managed totally separately from our Three Rivers service, and is thriving since the opening of
its third day per week.
We have had some marvellous outcomes in Research and Campaigns – resulting in a foodbank being set up in Abbots; with clients
facing a bus fare of £8 return to get to the Watford foodbank, it was until now not a feasible option for them to visit a foodbank.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of our funders (listed below) for their support, which enables us to provide help in
the community to those who would otherwise have no one to turn to. As one client said “without your help I would still be living in a
tent in the woods”. Likewise, a huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers, trustees and staff, who work tirelessly to ensure the
needs of the most vulnerable in Three Rivers are met. A special mention to Morella Boon, our IT co-ordinator who, together with
Gordon Campbell, continually ensures our IT systems are maintained and replaced, enabling us to provide a seamlessly high quality
provision of service to clients.
On the horizon, we are facing unknown client issues resulting from the Brexit vote and the probable full introduction of Universal
Credit, plus a premises move at Oxhey – there is always a new challenge for us and the local community, but we are always there to
meet it.
Marion Seneschall
WATFORD RURAL
PARISH COUNCIL
COUNCIL
ABBOTS LANGLEY
PARISH COUNCIL
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CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICE IN THREE RIVERS
T
April 2015-March 2016
TRUSTEE BOARD
Directors
Members
Mary Alderson
Andy Appleby (Chair until 7.11.15)
Paul Shaw (Treasurer and Chair)
Andy Pickford
Barbara Robjant
Jill Swainson
Jane Tozer
Eluned Wallace
Hugh Thomas (Company Secretary)
Mary Alderson
Andy Appleby
Patricia Bunn
Frederick Coppen
Nancy Crump
Joan Davis
Margaret Etall
Bridget Howarth
Pam King
Cllr Joy Mann
Nancy Nielsen
Andy Pickford
Alan Piper
Anne Pugh
Barbara Robjant
Owen Roe
Adele Ryntjes
Paul Shaw
Jill Swainson
Hugh Thomas
Jane Tozer
Cllr Peter Wakeling
Peter Waters
Eluned Wallace
STAFF & VOLUNTEERS
District Manager
Service Managers
Guidance Tutor
I.T. Co-ordinators
Marion Seneschall
Linda Blain, Karen Schirn
Vicky Santamaria
Gordon Campbell, Morella Boon
Abbots Langley Staff
Debbie Edwards
Oxhey Staff
Alan Freeman
Angela Griffiths
Gaynor Hartle
Jane Lever
Trish Lincoln
Peta Mettam
Rickmansworth Staff
Jane Brown
Barbara Copland
Jessica Foulds
Jo Gowing
Angela Griffiths
Gaynor Hartle
Jill Shippey
Rachel Chick
Jacky Davies
Jessica Foulds
Linda Galpert
Margery Hancock
Gaynor Hartle
Peta Mettam
Jill Shippey
Claire Skipsey
Advisers
Sue Brothwell
Alan Freeman
Sharon Garforth
Jane Kearney
Allen King
Harry Laverack
Laurie Lichman
Mary Mahoney
Peter North
Kate Quinton
Greta Read
Moira Rugg
Rob Sheppard
Steven Slater
Barbara Stunell
Angela Wells
Advisers
Alan Barton
Kathy Bateson
Jenny Brooke
Richard Bunt
Judith Childs
Brian Cox
Angela Drake
Mary Ford
Leon Grant
Claire Griffiths
Alicia Hamilton
Marian Harris
Gareth Jones
Bob Mountain
Farieza Rasheed
Paul Sved
Val Walsh
Bryan Winkett
Sandy Yates
Advisers
Admin
Beverley Chamberlain
Aelwyn Edwards
Debbie Edwards
Trainee Advisers
Paul Ansell
Roma Bell
Jo Easter
Paul Kendall
Peter Mackie
Jane Parnham
Pauline Pearce
Eugenia Poppiescou-Weinrabe
Stats Co-ordinator
Sandra Baker
Shirley Bartlett
Harry Bellak
Morella Boon
John Dando
Barbara Dyett
Phil Embling
Claire Francies
Linda Galpert
Pam Hall
Natasha Kennedy
Peter Mann
Susan Mansfield
Tony Martin
Catherine Pain
Henry Pearson
Chris Peel
David Reynolds
Margaret Saltrese
Trina Soames
Brian Thomson
Stephen Weinrabe
Nicola Winkler
Sarah Wood
Admin
Ozlem Aci
Tony Berry
Jean Coker
Sylvia Duffy
Jeannette Miller
Valerie Wigman
Admin
Kay Travell
Sheena Young
ABBOTS LANGLEY
The Old Stables
St Lawrence’s Vicarage
High Street
Abbots Langley, WD5 OAS
Mon
Tues & Thurs
Wed & Fri
10.00am - 4.00pm
10.00am - 3.00pm
10.00am - 1.00pm
Tel: 0344 245 1296 (Three Rivers Residents only)
Tel: 03444 111 44 (County wide service)
OXHEY & DISTRICT
4 Bridlington Road
South Oxhey
WD19 7AF
Mon, Thurs, Fri,
Tues
Wed
10.00am - 4.00pm
10.00am - 7.00pm (4pm-7pm appointments only)
10.00am - 4.00pm (specialist appointments only)
Tel: 0344 245 1296 (Three Rivers Residents only)
Tel: 03444 111 44 (County wide service)
RICKMANSWORTH
Northway House
High Street
Rickmansworth
WD3 1EH
Mon, Tues, Thurs 10.00am - 3.30pm
Wed & Fri
10.00am - 12.30pm
Tel: 0344 245 1296 (Three Rivers Residents only)
Tel: 03444 111 44 (County wide service)
Access our website for email advice inquiries at: three riverscab.org.uk
Contact us for a webchat via citizensadvice.org.uk
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