ABOUT US

The Bureau

The Citizens Advice Bureau in Swale was formed by merging the Faversham & District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and the Sittingbourne & Sheppey CAB on 1 June 2004. This new CAB is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity providing free and confidential advice in Faversham, Sheppey, Sittingbourne and the surrounding villages in the Borough of Swale on the north coast of Kent, UK. The Memorandum and Articles of Association can be downloaded here.

The Bureau has three branches in Faversham, Sheppey and Sittingbourne. As well as providing "drop-in" services for clients most weekdays, a phone enquiry line is available four days per week, and the CAB responds to over 70 phone enquiries per month. Out of hours, the CAB provides a "24/7" automated telephone advice line.

Appointments are available for a range of support including Welfare Benefits, Debt Advice, Employment Tribunals, Benefits for Over-Sixties, a Duty Solicitor and Form Filling. Following feedback from a client satisfaction survey, appointments for generalist advice were introduced in January 2002.

We can also provide help through Signing, Induction Loops and Interpreters in Nepali, Punjabi. Hindi, and Urdu.

In 2001/2002 the CAB became one of the first organisations in the Borough to be awarded the Legal Service Commission (LSC) General Help Quality Mark. Our Welfare Benefits and Debt Advice Casework is accredited to the LSC Specialist Quality Standard.

Our Staff

• The CAB has a Manager and two Deputy Managers who are paid part-time from core funds.
• We have a Welfare Benefits Caseworker, three Debt Advisors, a Project Worker for the Over-Sixties, a Housing Caseworker and a Caseworker for Faversham.
• The Bureau has around 65 volunteer advisors and clerical staff. All advice staff undergo assessment and free training by the Bureau and work a minimum of six hours per week. They can qualify for a Certificate in Advice Work, and the training and experience gained are invaluable assets in many other jobs.
• The time the Volunteers give to the CAB is estimated to be worth £260,00. However, they do have support costs in terms of training, supervision, travel, etc., and this is estimated to be approximately £3,800 per volunteer advisor per year.
• Our staff come from a diverse range of backgrounds and an age range spanning seven decades!

We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team.
If you are interested, please come in and see us,
phone, email or write to the Manager.

Trustee Board

The members of the Trustee Board are also volunteers drawn from the local community. The current Chairman is Robin Duncan, Manager of Human Resources at Shepherd Neame Brewery. Members are elected for three years and are responsible for overseeing all the activities of the Bureau.

Friends of the CAB in Swale

If you would like to get personally involved in supporting the CAB, why not become a Friend of the CAB in Swale?