Agenda item

To discuss the provision of services in Hitchin by Citizens Advice North Hertfordshire with Rosie Waters, CEO.

Ms Rosie Waters, CEO North Hertfordshire Citizens Advice thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a presentation regarding the future provision of services in the Hitchin area and the accommodation needs of the Citizens Advice service.

The Chair thanked Ms Rosie Waters for her presentation.

Audio Recording – 1 hour 22 minutes.                                           

Ms Rosie Waters, CEO North Hertfordshire Citizens Advice thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a presentation regarding the future provision of services in the Hitchin area and the accommodation needs of the Citizens Advice service including:

·                Citizens Advice had supported 671 clients with a Hitchin address in the last year;

·                Clients in Hitchin brought more overlapping issues in need of advice indicating additional layers of complexity and vulnerability in the community;

·                Universal Credit had been a top issue, followed by other benefits including Personal Independence Payments, Employment Support Allowance, issues around debt, housing and unemployment;

·                Citizens Advice was rethinking its face to face provision in the District and in Hitchin had additional concerns about their current use of Thomas Bellamy House;

·                Pre-pandemic it was open two days a week but during COVID restrictions face to face contact had been limited, providing an opportunity to reconsider the way forward before re-opening;

·                Before the pandemic a few hundred Hitchin clients would travel to Letchworth on the basis that Thomas Bellamy House appeared closed or inaccessible, and its location in town was not the most desirable for a welcoming public advice service;

·                It was not a fully accessible building which caused problems for clients with accessibility needs;

·                Citizens Advice had developed their multi-channel advice service making use of telephone, webchat, email and video conferencing calls but found that face to face advice was essential for vulnerable residents and complex needs; face to face contact would have to return while alternative provision continued;

·                There were three main options for the return of face to face service and the Committee was being asked for its input in deciding between the options: staying at Thomas Bellamy House, dispensing with permanent premises and developing a rolling in-reach schedule, or finding alternative premises in a more prominent part of town;

·                Permanent premises would require the use of 2-3 rooms, with space to conduct confidential meetings, but Citizens Advice was more than happy to share with other community organisations;

·                Citizens Advice aimed to restart face to face provision at Stage 2 of the Government pandemic recovery roadmap, making use of outdoor spaces – re-opening an office space would wait until one of the options outlined above had been settled on.

The Chair thanked Ms Rosie Waters for her presentation.

The following Members asked questions and contributed to the discussion:

·                Councillor Keith Hoskins

·                Councillor Simon Harwood

·                Councillor Ian Albert

·                Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb

·                Councillor Richard Thake

Points raised included:

·                The trust that owned the Sanctuary on the corner of Grove Road and Nightingale Road were looking to dispose of it;

·                Creating a community hub would be beneficial, in particular if it involved the re-opening of the credit union;

·                Thomas Bellamy House was still viable for use in the short term while the Council looked at other options;

·                Purchasing the Churchgate Centre could present a solution;

·                The Council should be more ambitious in exploring projects with long term commercial benefit;

·                The success of the movable in-reach project should be watched closely as a viable option;

·                The County Council should be involved in discussions as a property owner in the Hitchin area;

·                Demand for services from Citizens Advice would not decrease.

In response Ms Rosie Waters advised that in the short term it appeared North Herts Citizens Advice would continue to use Thomas Bellamy House as volunteers returned to face to face work, while in the long term they would liaise with the Council and look to move elsewhere while developing their in-reach capacity.

N.B the Chair called for a short break at the conclusion of this item. The Committee reconvened 21:18 and the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer conducted a roll-call.