The History of Citizens Advice Southampton
The origins of the modern Citizens Advice service can be traced back to the Betterton Report on Public Assistance .[25] The report recommended that advice centres should be set up to offer members of the public advice to help them with their problems. The first 200 bureaux opened on 4 September 1939, four days after World War II started. Many of these initial bureaux were run by ‘people of standing’ in the community, for example, the local bank manager.
By 1942, there were 1,074 bureaux in a wide range of improvised offices such as cafes, church halls, private homes and air raid shelters. Mobile offices also became important in ensuring that people could access advice. Many of the issues dealt with during that time were directly related to the war. These included the tracing of missing servicemen or prisoners of war, evacuations, food & soap rations, pensions and other allowances.
In 1955, Southampton and District Citizens Advice Bureau was opened.
A particular problem was the chronic housing shortage in the years immediately following the end of World War II. Many of the first issues brought to Southampton included queries with the Rent Act and associated difficulties and Hire Purchase agreements.
During the 60s, Southampton Citizens Advice moved into shared accommodation in Kings Park Road and in 1967 we had our first full time employee – Miss Muriel Webb. Miss Webb coined the phrase “FOR Citizens and BY Citizens” perfectly summing up the volunteer nature of the organisation that remains key to all we do here in Southampton.
For Citizens, by Citizens
From 1970, we saw the expansion of the service with services being delivered in Bitterne and Lordshill, 2 areas on the outskirts of the city. We were providing advice services to 12,000 individuals per year.
In the 80s, Southampton City Council redeveloped the building that we shared with the Marriage Guidance Council, which enabled both services to deliver more support to our community. As we moved into the 90s our team was committed to enabling people to manage their problems on a day-to-day basis and advocating to prevent similar problems impacting others. Our role was to Inform, Advise, Support and Influence.
The turn of the new millennium brought our 50th birthday. Many of the issues we faced during the noughties included welfare benefits and debt. During 2010, our work continued to be in high demand, but we were seeing funding reduced both within the charitable sector and the local authority. This has been reflected in the reduced levels of support we have been able to provide. Key issues continue to include debt and housing.
As 2019 came to an end, it was clear that as an organisation, we needed to review our accommodation. Our Chief Officer at the time, Liz Donegan, recognised that rising costs and lack of space were impacting our ability to meet the needs of our clients and that we needed to identify new premises. Premises that would allow us to deliver the changing services that were appearing on the horizon.
Inform, Advise, Support & Influence.
In January 2021 during the pandemic, we moved into our new accommodation at Brunswick Place. A building that was able to provide an efficient space for us, albeit at a reduced capacity due to COVID19, but also one that could hold the administrative base for our projects.
The services of Southampton Citizens Advice have changed over the past 3-5 years as we flex to fit the needs of the very diverse community of Southampton within available funding.
In the year April 22 to March 23, Southampton Citizens Advice supported 6,127 clients with over 19,000 issues. These issues included: Benefits, Debt, Housing and Food Banks. We helped people gain over £4 million pounds of additional income or debts written off.
44% of those we support are from a minority ethnic background and 51% have a disability or long-term health condition.
Looking to the Future
As one of the oldest Citizens Advice services in the country, we are incredibly proud of our history and our commitment to the National Citizens Advice Movement. We have a challenging time ahead with both our own funding streams and supporting our community through the cost-of-living crisis, the rise in immigration, and the increase in non-UK workers needing advice and guidance.
Our services are reliant on a mix of paid staff and volunteers who go through a robust induction to give them the information, knowledge and confidence to support our community. We are in awe of the work they do, the commitment they give and the outcomes they achieve.
Volunteers remain the lifeblood of the work we do and the impact we make. If you want to find out more about how you can get involved please press here.