Citizens Advice Bureau - Annual Review 2024/25

Between 1935 and 1938 when World War II was anticipated the National Council for Voluntary Service, (now the National Council for Voluntary Organisations), was in talks with the government of the day to provide an emergency advice service should war break out. The notion was to give advice to the public on any wartime regulations and restrictions that may arise. Glasgow already had the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service (now the Care Foundation) founded in 1874 and based in 212 Bath Street with 6 district offices around the city whose purpose was to provide all forms of social care, the start of the type of social work as we know today. It was, therefore, already well equipped for such a new venture so formed a department calling it the Citizens Advice Service. That service opened on 15 January 1939 and was staffed entirely by volunteers from the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service. It was the first of its kind in the United Kingdom so the GlasgowCitizens Advice Service was the first Citizens’ Advice ‘Bureau’ in the country and the beginning of the CABx network as it is now. There was close co-operation with the British Red Cross Society and other voluntary agencies with training and lectures being arranged for volunteers and others in organisations in and around Glasgow to prepare for tracing missing persons, prisoners of war and the immediate problems such as black outs, food rationing, food parcels, budgeting, homelessness, serving personnel at the South East Asia command and social welfare. In its first year the service had 8,000 enquiries. The previous talks with the NCVS resulted in the National Council of Citizens’ Advice Bureau (now the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureau, later t/a CitA) being formed by September 1939 in London to support its members UK wide. By the time war was declared on 3 September 1939 there was then a network of agencies known as Citizens’ Advice Bureau ready to advise the public on the new challenges. The City of Glasgow Society of Social Service decided to adopt this name also and changed the name from Citizens’ Advice Service to Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Later, when other CABx opened in Glasgow the original Glasgow Bureau became identified as the Glasgow (Bath Street) Citizens’ Advice Bureau. After the Clydebank blitz in 1941 when many parts of Glasgow were devastated the Glasgow Town Clerk requested assistance from the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service’s Citizens’ Advice Bureau and 54 volunteers were enlisted to the Glasgow Corporation’s Emergency & Casualty Centre to assist with shelter for those evacuated, victims of bombing and the time consuming task of identifying casualties who had been rushed to nearby hospitals and establishing who was missing and to where they may have been taken. The original Bath Street bureau helped set up other CAB in surrounding counties and gave them training in civil defence. By the end of the war the Bath Street CAB had recorded 73,000 enquiries. Originally the service was intended for the duration of the war only but the Bath Street CAB continued beyond then without interruption. The City of Glasgow Society of Social Service opened two, free at service, Legal Dispensaries to compliment the work of their CAB. Post war enquiries were mainly related to housing, education & training, social welfare, budgeting, relationships, children, the transition fromwar time supplies & rationing and war pensions. By 1946 the Bath Street bureau had recorded 86,633 enquiries classified under 21 categories. In the 1960’s enquiries started to grow steadily with more media publicity and recognition of the brand. There was a much wider range of subject matter including giving a more holistic service. There became the introduction of ‘Model Lodging Houses’ and issuing food vouchers worth 2/6d (12.5p) on behalf of the Glasgow Benevolent Society and accepted in selected city grocers. In that decade funding by grant aid started to come from the then Glasgow Corporation (now the Glasgow City Council), so the bureau separated its activities from the City of Glasgow Society of Social Service but remained with them as a tenant until the building was sold in 1990. In the 1960’s the bureau had around 75 volunteers and was lucky enough to have two paid members of staff to ‘organise’ the volunteers. Although their pay was low other bureaux had no paid staff at that time. In 1975, with more CABx having opened in Scotland, the Scottish Association of Citizens’ Advice Bureau (SACAB, later t/a CAS) was formed as a regional office of the National Association of Citizens’ Advice Bureau and in 1980 became an independent association serving its Scottish CABx members now standing at 59, 8 of which are in Glasgow. Although part of a nationwide membership each bureau is autonomous having its own entity. CAS supports its member bureaux with a comprehensive Information System, Case Management, Quality Assurance Audits, IT, policies and training. FROM THE BEGINNING TO WHERE WE ARE In 1990 the bureau moved to 87 Bath Street. The bureau’s governance was reviewed in 1993 and it then became an incorporated company limited by guarantee with a Board of Directors (Trustees) in place of the former Management Committee. In August 1999 the Bureau relocated to 48 Albion Street and became the Glasgow (Albion Street) Citizens’ Advice Bureau but in March 2004 was renamed Glasgow (Central) Citizens’ Advice Bureau to reflect its city wide coverage. In 2007 it moved 88 Bell Street. The next major change was in 2017 when the bureau moved into the world famous Mitchell Library at Charing Cross. It is in keeping that the UK’s oldest CAB is co-located and working together in partnership with one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe originating in 1877. Funding has come from a variety of streams over the years but constantly from the Glasgow City Council and its forerunners and now operates from a cocktail of funding from different sources mostly for specific purposes. The service is free at point of service delivery to the citizens of Glasgow, is independent, impartial, confidential and is easily accessible. The Aims of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau are: • To ensure that individuals do not suffer through ignorance of their right and responsibilities, or of the services available, or through an inability to express their needs effectively and equally. • To exercise a responsible influence on the development of social policy and services, locally and nationally. NATIONAL PROJECTS AND DEVELOPMENT