CAB

Telephone Adviceline 08444 111444 On Line Advice at www.adviceguide.org.uk

Norfolk woman jailed for illegal money lending activities

England Illegal Money Lending Team and trading standards officers at Norfolk County Council have scored an important victory in the fight against illegal money lenders. A woman from Norfolk has been jailed for eight months after her involvement in a ‘loan shark’ business which lent more than £100,000 to 67 local people.

Speaking after the case, Tony Quigley, head of England Illegal Money Lending Team, said: “I think it sends a clear message that if you’re caught committing loan sharking activities then you will go to prison”.

“This sort of activity is not a community service, it’s actually preying on some of the most vulnerable members of the community.”

He added: “This was a business and it was a business on the backs of those that could least afford it.”

Martin Lewis donation

Back in June this year Martin Lewis announced his plans to donate £1 million to the Citizens Advice network across the UK, subject to completion of the sale of MoneySavingExpert. com to the MoneySupermarket.com Group. The sale process completed at the end of September.

The donation from Martin Lewis of £1 million consists of two parts: £750,000 in cash, to be distributed proportionately to Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) and Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NIACAB) – with a minimum of £50,000 going to each; £250,000 in shares in MoneySupermarket.com, transferred to Citizens Advice and which cannot be sold for three years from the date of transfer. The transfer is currently in progress.

The cash donation will be apportioned on a percentage population basis (according to ONS 2010 data), meeting the £50,000 minimum, across the three organisations as follows: Citizens Advice – £615,000; Citizens Advice Scotland – £85,000; NIACAB – £50,000

Both CAS and NIACAB have decided that they will use their allocated funding amount for their own local projects.

Funding parameters

Martin Lewis has requested that the cash element of the donation is used as follows: allocated primarily to bureaux across all four UK countries for money or debt advice and/or financial capability work.

He is also open to the money being spent on network-wide support to bureaux in developing money advice services and/ or taking forward our strategic work. This Christmas people in receipt of Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit will be able to purchase stamps at 2011 prices. Every household in the UK will receive a leaflet outlining the offer, which includes the Adviceguide link and mentions the fact that Citizens Advice Bureaux offer free, independent and confidential advice on benefits and other issues.

What does the Citizens Advice service do? Provide advice

The Citizens Advice service offers information and advice through face-to-face, phone and email services, and online via Adviceguide.org.uk. Between them, Citizens Advice Bureaux make advice available from over 3,500 locations in England and Wales including high streets, community centres, doctors’ surgeries, courts and prisons.

During 2010/11 the service helped 2.1 million people with 7.1 million problems relating to issues including debt, benefits, employment, housing and immigration. Advisers help clients to fill our forms, write letters, negotiate with creditors, and can even represent them at court or tribunal.

Influence policy

We’re not just here for times of crisis – we also use clients’ stories anonymously to campaign for policy changes that benefit the population as a whole.

The sheer number of clients we see each year means that if there is a recurring injustice out there, it is inevitably being played out in our interview rooms and recorded on our database of client evidence. This database is analysed by the national policy team, who are then able to bring problem areas to the attention of those who are – often inadvertently – causing them. Cambridge CAB

66 Devonshire Road, Cambridge, CB1 2BL, Telephone: 0844 848 7979 – Adviceline Web site: www.cambridgecab.org.uk Advice sessions – Monday to Friday: 09.15–12.45 Telephone advice times – Monday to Friday: 14.00–16.00 Royston CAB Outreach

Town Hall, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 7DA. 08444 111 444 Web site: www.northhertscab.cabnet.org.uk Advice sessions – Monday to Friday: 09.30–12.00 Open Door Telephone advice times – Monday to Friday: 10.00–16.00 Open Door Many bureaux now have a short introductory interview to help decide how you can be best advised. You may then be asked to make an appointment. If the bureau is open only for appointments or specialist advice this will be indicated in the notes.

Unless indicated otherwise an adviser should be available by phone though this may be for an introductory interview only to help decide how you can best be advised.