New Year Message

New Year Message

4th January 2019

Citizens Advice Scotland launches video to promote help in New Year

People in Scotland who are worried about debt and finance going into the New Year shouldn’t suffer in silence, says Citizens Advice Scotland.

In a new video, CAS Chief Executive Derek Mitchell encourages people faced with the “daunting” challenge of dealing with the consequences of Christmas spending to get advice and support for their finances, and says that without enough money to go round some people in Scotland are inevitably struggling.

Mr Mitchell says in the video: “I know from talking to people who use our services that we’re all in really challenging times. For a lot of people there’s not enough money to last the month, or there’s only just enough - and that can be very uncomfortable. Things like Universal Credit and poverty wages have a big impact on people and their families, as do the cost of unexpected repairs, or coping with credit cards and loans.

He adds: “It’s been said to me that if someone has no money it’s because they’re bad at managing it. I think the opposite is true - if you’re surviving on very little money you’ve probably become an expert in how to get by. Because, sadly, you have to be.”

Advice from the Citizens Advice Scotland network is free, confidential and completely impartial, whether people access services face to face at one of 60 bureaux across Scotland, by phone or online.  

Last year, across the network, CAS gave advice to one in 15 adults in Scotland, and dealt with over 874,000 advice issues. This support led to citizens in Scotland gaining over £138 million in compensation, money due or in-kind support.

The video also marks 2019 as the 80th year of the network of advice and support from Citizens Advice in Scotland. The contribution of individual Citizens Advice Bureau volunteers, the backbone of the service in communities, will be recognised in a special awards ceremony to be held in March.