At Citizens Advice Somerset we see thousands of people every year, and we have a more detailed understanding of the problems that people experience than any other organisation.
We know which policies are working and spot emerging problems early. In our policy research we combine these insights with analysis of the wider social and economic trends affecting everyone in Somerset, we set out new ideas to improve policy and campaign for change.
Local campaigning
Our Research and Campaign team meet regularly to review the key issues faced by people in Somerset and the unfairness that has been experienced. This data is then used to lobby MPs, councillors, the local authority, and others, as well as presenting our findings in the media and taking part in awareness raising activities.
In the last year we have campaigned locally on issues such as:
- Council Tax Reduction consultation – to demonstrate the huge impact of the proposed changes to disabled and lower income households
- Social housing flooring lottery – campaigning to change the policy of social and council housing providers ripping out flooring before new tenants move in. You can read our report which was presented to the council and directors of all Somerset social housing providers here – Somerset’s Flooring Lottery
- Pension Credit take-up – to mitigate the effects of the changes to Winter Fuel payment eligibility
- Ongoing Cost of Living Crisis – regularly sharing our cost of living dashboards with key partners to demonstrate the impact of the crisis affecting people in Somerset
- Scams awareness – to raise awareness of new scams and what to do if you’re worried
- Big Energy Saving Week – sharing information and advice to help people manage their energy bills
The national Citizens Advice team collate the data and identify the trends across the country. This is shared in a variety of ways such as interactive reports and virtual events. You can see our map of the negative budget rate by constituency here, and you can see more of our data insights in our Cost of Living dashboard.
Data Insight event
The national Citizens Advice data team hold regular Data Insight webinars. Join the data team on Tuesday 25 February, 2-3 pm, for the first Data Insights event of 2025 exploring debt, a troubling legacy of the cost-of-living crisis.
We have broken the record for both the number of people coming to us for help with debt, and the size of the debt burden, even as cost-of-living pressures ease for some. A panel of experts will explore our latest data, uncovering what’s driving people into debt, the challenges they face, and how the government can better support people in debt forced to make dangerous cuts to essential expenses.
Guest speakers:
- Helen Undy, Chief Executive, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute
- Dianne Lyons, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice Leeds.
The team will also take the first look at our winter data, comparing this winter with previous years. Has the crisis truly eased, or is it just the governments and the media’s perception of what defines a crisis that has changed?
Somerset policy and campaign successes
Over the years we have had many successes with our campaign work, including;
- Launched an ‘ESA have your say’ campaign (which went national) to challenge the quality of ESA work capability assessments – our evidence was used in the House of Lords,
- Hosted a Somerset Welfare Rights conference to raise awareness of welfare reform and best practice in advice work,
- Developed vulnerable person policies with local statutory services to reduce the risk of harm to vulnerable customers,
- Contributed to improvements to the discharge policy for people leaving mental health hospital care, reducing the likelihood of readmission,
- Responding to the annual consultation of Homefinder Somerset lettings policy which improved access to housing.
National campaign work
Each local Citizens Advice office sends information about the problems brought to them (no client information is shared) to National Citizens Advice.
This evidence is collated to help campaign officers identify national trends. Citizens Advice can then present evidence to policy makers by writing reports and submissions and participating in consultations to improve policies.
More information on our national campaigning can be found here.
