Citizen Advice Exeter were appointed by the Council in October 2019 to provide a city wide Independent Information Advice and Advocacy Service.
The purpose of the service is to:
– Ensure free, independent, confidential and impartial advice, information and advocacy is available to help people resolve the problems they face.
– Help address the widening inequality gap for Exeter communities in terms of health, income, employment and access to services.
– Work alongside the Council’s Housing Needs Team to support customers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and are experiencing financial and budgeting difficulties
Below is a quarterly comparison of client enquiry areas:
Q1 | Q2 2021/22 | Q3 2021/22 | Q4 | % Change Q3 to Q4 | |
Clients | 2229 | 2005 | 1960 | 2406 | +22.75% |
Benefit enquiries | 3478 | 3504 | 3641 | 3747 | +2.90% |
Debt enquiries | 669 | 541 | 626 | 564 | -9.90% |
Housing enquiries | 302 | 329 | 309 | 396 | +28.1% |
Employment enquiries | 216 | 176 | 195 | 170 | -12.8% |
Citizens Advice Exeter April 2021 – March 2022 Advice Trends
Please note that the trends data below relates to the enquiries we have dealt with, and that we have a reduced number of volunteers since Coronavirus restrictions were put in place which may impact some of the trend data.
Client enquiries
- We helped 8,870 clients directly with their advice and information needs.
- We dealt with 87 enquiries relating to Coronavirus.
Welfare benefits
Overall, we have seen a 21.9% increase in welfare benefit enquiries. The main changes being:
- 16.1% increase about Employment Support Allowance
- 14.3% increase about Income Support
- 11.6% increase about DLA/Personal Independence Payment
We also dealt with 2,888 new enquires about Universal Credit.
Debt
Overall, we have seen a 9.7% decrease in debt enquiries. The main changes being:
- 17% decrease about Housing Association rent arrears
- 11.6% decrease about bank overdrafts
- 5.2% decrease about water arrears
Employment
Overall, we have seen a 39.8% decrease in employment enquiries. The main changes being:
- 30.2% decrease about dispute resolution
- 28.5% decrease about terms and conditions
- 13.4% decrease about apy and entitlements
Housing
Overall, we have seen a 34.2% increase in housing enquiries. The main changes being:
- 43.3% increase about threatened homelessness
- 39.4% increase about housing association property
- 18.8% increase about private sector property
Annual report for each City Ward Click to view
Alphington
Duryard + St James
Exwick
Heavitree
Mincinglake + Whipton
Newtown + St Leonards
Pennsylvania
Pinhoe
Priory
St Davids
St Loyes
St Thomas
Topsham