News & Events

Citizens Advice South Worcestershire is recruiting

We are actively seeking a to recruit a Work & Health Coach. This is a new role which will involve working virtually with the existing Wellbeing Team at SWCA in Malvern, alongside the advice team in Wychavon and building on links with Primary Care colleagues and wider local services, as well as working independently being part of a county wide Work and Health Coach network.

To find out more or to apply for this position follow these links:

Work Coach Job Description

Notes for applicant

Application Form

Diversity Monitoring

CAP Life Skills – Living on a Limited Income

Are you or someone you know struggling to choose between food or heating? CAP – Christians Against Poverty UK are offering a 8-week Life Skills course designed to help you make your money go further while still living well. On the course you will learn practical money saving techniques which will include cooking on a budget, living healthily for less and making their money go further.
To sign up for the course ring Dave on 07838833317 or go onto the website https://capuk.org/get-help/cap-life-skills# and enter your postcode. You can also email him on daveclarke@caplifeskils.org
The next course begins on Thursday March 6th and runs from 10.15-11.45am for seven weeks.
The course is free of charge and will be held at the Help Centre , Malvern Football Club, Langland Avenue, Malvern WR14 2EQ

Moving to Universal Credit – “Managed Migration”

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is in the process of moving claimants still on legacy benefits to Universal Credit.
The legacy benefits are: means-tested Jobseekers Allowance; means-tested Employment Support Allowance; Housing Benefit; Income Support; Child and Working Tax Credits. You can’t usually make a new claim for these “old” benefits.
This process is called Managed Migration and has been taking place over a number of years.  If you are contacted what you will need to do depends on what’s in the letter.
If the letter gives a deadline for you to claim Universal Credit, it’s a “migration notice”. The deadline should be at least 3 months after the date the notice was sent. You should claim Universal Credit by the deadline in the letter otherwise your benefits will stop.
If your letter doesn’t have a deadline, you don’t have to claim Universal Credit unless you want to – even if the letter says you’ll have to claim Universal Credit in future. It’s important to remember that you won’t be able to go back to your old benefits after you claim.
Your old benefits will stop after the deadline given in the letter. If you claim Universal Credit before the deadline, DWP might pay you extra to stop you being worse off. This is called “transitional protection”. This means that if you’d get less on Universal Credit than your old benefits, you’ll get an extra amount to make up the difference. The DWP will reduce the extra amount over time – so you’ll eventually just get what you normally would on Universal Credit.
If you don’t claim before the final deadline in the letter (which can sometimes be extended) you may lose any transitional protection granted so it is important to respond to the letter.
If you need help moving on to Universal Credit, you can talk to an adviser. Contact the Malvern office on 01684 563611, email: enquiries.malvern@citizensadvicesw.org.uk or the Wychavon office on 01386 712100, email: enquiries.wychavon@citizensadvicesw.org.uk.
Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. Some providers call them ‘essential’ or ‘basic’ broadband.
They’re delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price. Amid rising living costs, Ofcom is encouraging companies to offer social tariffs to help customers on low incomes.
Click here to find out more.

Help with Energy Bills

Rising energy bills are at the front of everyone’s minds. But how can you be more energy efficient and save money? And what support might you be entitled to for rising energy bills? Click here to find out more.

Ukrainian Crisis Response

Local authorities and support services are in a state of preparedness for when the situation in Ukraine creates the need for local support. Click on the links below to see what is happening in your area:

Malvern Hills District Council

Wychavon District Council

Appointments

We are no longer offering drop-in sessions so face-to-face appointments must be pre-booked.
The Worcestershire Adviceline is also available Monday-Friday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on 0808 278 7891
Our volunteers will be providing advice by telephone and email as follows:

Malvern

To speak to an adviser, please ring 01684 563611 or email enquiries.malvern@citizensadvicesw.org.uk
This service is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm

Wychavon 

To speak to an adviser, please ring 01386 712100 option 1, or email enquiries.wychavon@citizensadvicesw.org.uk
This service is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm

Need help to Claim Universal Credit?

Our Help to Claim advisers can help you with the early stages of your Universal Credit claim. You can talk to them on the phone, or online over chat.

Our advisers can help you:

  • work out if you can get Universal Credit
  • fill in the Universal Credit application 
  • prepare for your first Jobcentre appointment 
  • check your first payment is correct 

You can read our online advice on Universal Credit at any time.

You can contact an adviser through our free Help to Claim phone service. Advisers are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday:

Ask for a translator if you need to get advice in a different language. 

Relay UK – if you can’t hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say:

Relay UK (England): 18001 then 0800 144 8 444

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

For more information see: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

Social Prescribing

Social prescribers at Citizens Advice South Worcestershire will be supporting communities through this difficult time by maintaining phone contact with vulnerable clients and promoting local initiatives.
Click here to download details of where to get the help you need or find out how you can help.

Help for businesses

The Government has set up a business support helpline on 0300 456 3565. This is available Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Click here for information on support available to businesses in South Worcestershire. You can also sign up for a regular email newsletter.

Online Information

For general information on Coronavirus and how it may affect you, click here.

Want to sort out your finances?

You should contact Citizens Advice South Worcestershire immediately if you’ve received court papers, are facing eviction or are expecting bailiffs. Our contact details can be found from the Home page.
The Citizens Advice online budgeting tool can help you understand what you’re earning and spending and where you might be able to cut costs. Check it out now.

Citizens Advice South Worcestershire Fundraising Campaign

Find out how you can help your local Citizens Advice office to raise funds to ensure we can continue to provide support to the people of South Worcestershire.
Check out our Fundraising page.

Fundraising
and donations

We raise all our own funds to keep our service going. For more information about how you can help :

CLICK HERE
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