WHAT'S NEW?

New Opening Hours
Slight changes have been made to the opening hours at all three Bureaus - see How to Find Us for details.
In order to help reduce waiting times, the Bureaus now operate a Gateway-based advice system. Clients are given a short initial interview to determine the best way to deal with each enquiry. This can lead to provision of information, an immediate full interview, a telephone or face-to-face appointment (with either a general or specialist advisor) or referral to a third party organisation.
(18 February 2010)

Summer Quiz Answers
Congratulations to the winner of this year's Summer Quiz who is David Wood of Harvey Drive, Sittingbourne. He was the only contestant to identify all 49 towns and cities correctly. Commiserations to Philip Hall who was the unlucky victim of a steward's inquiry as he offered "Leamington" at Q 47 rather than "Royal Leamington Spa". As well as Philip, three other contestants got 48/49. The answers can be downloaded here. Many thanks to all those who bought the Quiz and to our ever-inventive Quizmaster, David Walker. All proceeds will go to the Bureau.
(18 October 2009)

Annual Report and Accounts 2008/9
The website has been updated in line with the Annual Report and Accounts for 2008/9. Click here to view an overview of progress and achievements during the year by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Robin Duncan. During 2008/9 the bureau advised 6,543 clients about 25,786 issues - an increase of 40% over the previous year. Other noteworthy achievements included:

• development of a new independent housing service with Swale Housing Association and Swale Borough Council;
• installation of an information kiosk in the Seashells Childrens Centre in Sheerness funded by the East Kent Primary Care Trust;
• winning funding from the Department of Business, Innovation and Science to open Sheerness Bureau for an additional day each week;
• obtaining funding from the Nationwide Building Society to develop a financial capability programme using volunteer advisers;
• working with other Bureaux in Kent to obtain a grant of £250,000 from Kent County Council.

In surveys 89% of clients rated our service as good or very good and 91% said they would recommend it to family and friends.

A copy of the Report can be obtained by sending a SAE to the Sittingbourne Bureau and is available in local libraries.
(10-Oct-2009)

Sheppey CAB Expands its Service
With the current economic downturn CABx have seen sharp rises in numbers of clients seeking advice on redundancy, benefits and mortgage and secured loan arrears. Citizens Advice has received a £10m boost in funding from the Government to stay open extra hours and the CAB in Swale bid successfully for some of these funds. As a result, from 7 April 2009 Sheppey CAB will open additionally on a Tuesday between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm. Also from 6 April Sheppey Bureau will change the way its services are delivered. All new clients will have a 10 minute "Gateway" assessment of their enquiry. The adviser will then offer one of the following: relevant printed information, an appointment, or, if necessary, signpost to an appropriate agency. By making these changes we will be able to see many more clients.
(8-Mar-2009)

New Funding from Nationwide and Sheppey Rotary
The CAB in Swale has recently received two grants that will make significant contributions to improving our services to clients.

• We have received funds from the Nationwide Building Society in partnership with Citizens Advice to fund financial capability work. This is a new venture for us and aims to educate clients to build skills, knowledge and confidence about financial matters such as banking, borrowing, budgeting and debts.
• We are also extremely grateful to the Sheppey Rotary Club for a grant to assist the work of the Sheppey Bureau.

(8-Mar-2009)

New Debt Relief Orders (DRO's)
In April, new Debt Relief Orders are being introduced. These are a new type of insolvency for people who have NO assets and are less than £15,000 in debt.They will cost £90. Caseworkers at the CAB in Swale will be approved intermediaries.
(5-Mar-2009)

CAB Information Kiosk
The CAB Information Kiosk at Seashells, Rose Street, Sheerness, went live on 6 May 2008. The Kiosk is connected to the internet and links to information on a selected number of public websites categorised as "Your Money", "Your Rights", etc. It is very easy to use and fully accessible by wheelchair users. By using the Kiosk, people can solve problems for themselves or decide where they need to go for further advice. The Kiosk was made possible by a grant from the Health Inequalities Fund.
(25 May 2008)