Russell Mynott
Bureau Manager

The continuing growth and development of any organisation requires there to be a properly funded strong core service. In the case of the Chelmsford Citizens Advice Bureau this evidences itself as a strong general advice unit and therefore we are very grateful for the continuing support from our main funding body, Chelmsford Borough Council and the other core service funding bodies Essex County Council and South Woodham Ferrers Town Council. With this support we have managed to provide a strong high quality service for the benefit of the community. From this sound foundation we have been able, as reported last year, to bid for contracts from the Legal Services Commission. I am pleased to say that these are now in place so we can offer specialist advice in the newly formed Specialist Advice Unit. Since the award of these contracts, the Legal Services Commission has launched the Community Legal Services Strategy document which will change not only the way legal aid is procured, but also the way this advice is delivered within communities such as Chelmsford. The plan is to place contracts with larger providers consequently reducing administration costs per client, but at the same time expanding the geographical area of delivery thus reducing advice ‘deserts’ and increasing access to justice in more remote areas.

It is also proposed that contracts will go to competitive tendering to ensure best value. To enable us to compete in this environment and expand our breadth of services, we will have to work closely with our colleagues from other Bureaux across Essex, and those in the public and private sectors. To allow us to be in a position to bid for these contracts, we must continue to have a strong core service that promotes the ethos of Citizens Advice. We must provide a high quality, independent and free advice service, covering all issues, at locations other than Bureau sites. At the same time, by using new and existing technology, we must enable wider access to our services.

An example of the need to provide advice away from the main Bureau is the 31% increase in clients seen at the outreach centre based in the Health Services Clinic at South Woodham Ferrers, which is supported by the South Woodham Ferrers Town Council grant. Demand for our services is ever increasing, as is the complexity of client enquiries. We also need to expand access to our services and develop a business model and structure to encompass the changes proposed by the Legal Services Commission. Therefore we have had to reorganise the Bureau to ensure that we can remain competitive in the market place. We would like to thank Beth Cornish, who left the Bureau in February, for her hard work and tireless efforts in ensuring the best service for the clients and for support to the volunteers. With Beth leaving and David Simmonds moving from the general Bureau to take up the post of Welfare Benefits Specialist, we have taken the opportunity to reorganise and develop new roles (or enhance existing roles). This will ensure that our outreach services are increased, access to our existing services widened, and to underpin both, that the quality of our service is monitored and maintained.
I am grateful that during this time of change the paid staff have been supportive and the volunteer staff have responded positively to these challenges to ensure the highest quality of service to the citizens of Chelmsford.

Back to Annual Review