Research and Campaigns

One of the twin aims of the Citizens Advice service is to campaign to improve the policies and practices which affect people's every day lives. Everyone who works and volunteers for us contributes to this work by identifying examples of unfairness and our team of research & campaign volunteers use this evidence to write letters, reports and news articles with the aim of influencing decision makers on what needs to change. We also raise awareness about rights and benefits.  Campaign success stories are shown at the end of this page.

Our current priorities…

1. Difficulties contacting the DWP (Department of Work & Pensions)

We are gathering information from client where they are struggling to get in touch with the DWP and the administration of benefits. Long waiting times on the telephone and getting necessary paperwork is creating delays in payments 

2. Postal Delays

We are working with National Citizens Advice and OFCOM providing evidence on the impact of the postal delays. Examples of the impact of this are:

• Client did not receive notification of speeding offence which resulted in them receiving a court order. 
• Hospital appointment missed as letter detailing appointment arrived too late. 
• Residents only receive mail every three to four weeks resulting in missing a deadline to reply to a DWP request for information in order to be able to process clients claim.
• Lost registered post containing birth and marriage certificates returned to client by DVLA.

BBC 1 Panorama, 26/02/2024. Panorama took a deep dive into letter delays with a full programme dedicated to the issue

Royal Mail: Where’s My Post

3. The National Red Index: how to turn the tide on falling living standards

Negative budgets - a damning measure of living standards

We’re in the problem business. Our advisers help people with more of them than anyone else in the country - nearly 9 million a year. So we have a pretty clear view of the most urgent problems facing Britain as we head into an election year.

And it’s been heartbreakingly clear what the biggest problem is over the past two years: negative budgets. Last year, we sounded the alarm that half the people we help with debt are in a negative budget - where even after expert advice, they have more going out than coming in. 

A negative budget is the ultimate red line between making ends meet, and being pushed deeper and deeper into trouble. Like quicksand, it’s hard to get out of once you’re in. And while negative budgets are the worst of this problem, so many more people come to us feeling like they’re just living on empty, running to stand still, worrying about what the future holds. 

This is a stark warning that while our advice can be life changing, it’s not always enough to pull people out of the red and into the black. It’s not for lack of trying - negative budgets are a failure of policy, not advice. Successive governments haven’t addressed fundamental policy issues - especially the supply of affordable housing - leaving millions of households struggling to make ends meet on stagnant incomes. 

So when the cost of other essentials like energy and food spun out of control in recent years, there was nowhere to go but down. People made tough decisions, cutting back on heating and eating, but this only takes you so far. Some costs can’t be cut. 

The National Red Index: how to turn the tide on falling living standards - Citizens Advice

4. Digital Fairness

One of the twin aims of the Citizens Advice service is to campaign to improve the policies and practices which affect people's everyday lives. Everyone who works and volunteers for us contributes to this work by identifying examples of unfairness and our team of research & campaign volunteers use this evidence to write letters, reports, and news articles with the aim of influencing decision makers on what needs to change.  

Survey Results.pdf

Citizens Advice Success Stories

Read more about our national campaign successes here