NEWS
August 2010
Voluntary Sector
wins contract for provision of legal aid in Eastbourne
and Hastings
The East Sussex Advice Partnership has won a major
contract to provide legal help to clients in Eastbourne. The Legal
Services Commission has awarded a contract to provide legal advice on
housing, welfare benefit and debt to the East Sussex Advice Partnership.
Advice agencies in both towns will be working
together in a consortium to ensure that clients can access all three types
of advice, whichever agency they go to.
Eastbourne Citizens Advice will provide debt advice and
BHT Eastbourne Advice will provide housing and welfare benefits
advice in the town. The agencies have recently introduced an electronic
appointments system so that clients, who need legal advice for more than
one category of law, can be booked an appointment at both agencies.
Advice agencies in Hastings
will be working together. HARC will provide welfare benefit advice,
Citizens Advice 1066 will provide debt advice and BHT Hastings Advice will
provide housing advice in the town.
March 2010
Equalities and Human Rights Project
The Human Rights and Equalities Project is a countywide
project hosted by the Eastbourne Citizens Advice Bureau and funded by
the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. It aims to organise and
deliver training sessions to develop the capacity and understanding of
voluntary organisations, frontline workers and community representatives
on various aspects of Human Rights and Equalities.
These sessions hope to fulfil the aim of better enabling
voluntary organisations, advisors and workers to employ human rights at
work, to understand the practical applications of Human Rights laws for
themselves and their service users, to assist clients in identifying
various aspects of discrimination and to support victims in their access
to justice.
Courses are free and will be tailored to your specific
needs. We will also provide legal advice and representation on the
equality enactments to people who have been discriminated against in the
course of their employment. This service will build on the existing
partnership of the current legal advice partners in East Sussex and will
include building on work to develop access advice to various BME
communities, members of community isolated by disabilities, older people
and people from gay and lesbian communities.
To download a copy of the Awareness Raising Flyer (pdf) click
here
August 2009
Claire Jeary, Manager of Lewes and Seaford CAB has
resigned and is replaced by Zuzanna Bristow.
April 2009
Princess Anne, the patron of Citizens Advice,
recently visited the Hastings office to officially re-open under the new
name Citizens Advice 1066.
November 2008
Advice Plus II funding for East Sussex
Citizens Advice East Sussex has been
awarded £499,191 grant from the Big Lottery Advice Plus II funding
stream.
The three year programme will
strengthen and build the partnership and collaboration between the Legal
Service Commission contract holders (Citizens Advice, Brighton Housing
Trust, Shelter and Hastings Advice and Representation Centre) and other
advice providers in East Sussex, in order to improve access to good
quality and appropriate legal advice for people in need in East Sussex,
enabling and supporting those in need to avoid or overcome disadvantage.
”The funding for this work is
very timely. It will enable us to develop effective partnerships to
ensure Advice Services are targeted and available to those who need them
the most across East Sussex. It will not only increase the coverage of advice provision it
will also strengthen and greatly improve co-ordination and the quality
of advice being given.
For those in need it will mean a
more joined up and consistent service with less disruption and false or
repeat starts as the full range of their needs are responded to through
a more coherent and smooth process of referral and joint support and
increased access to specialist Advice support.
At the end of the programme we will have set up formal
Partnerships and we will have developed an Advice Strategy for East
Sussex that will provide a platform for sustainable local Quality
Assured advice provision that is meeting the needs of the most
vulnerable people in East Sussex.”
October 2008
The Trustee Board of Citizens Advice East Sussex
have been Highly Commended by CitA in its Volunteer of the Year Awards
2008.
September 2008
East Sussex County Council Trading Standards
department have arranged for the redesign of the Make Money Make Sense
website which was created in conjunction with Eastbourne CAB. The address
is www.moneymakesense.co.uk
The website contains teaching materials designed
to help young people improve their financial literacy.
Students can access activities and presentations.
Teachers can download materials which they can use as
part of the PHSE curriculum.
These materials were the first created by a CAB
which gained the PFEG (Personal Finance Education Group) quality mark. www.pfeg.org
July 2008
Lewes and Seaford say goodbye to Peter Gannon as
Manager and welcomes Claire Jeary as his replacement.
April 2008
The East Sussex bureaux have renewed their
agreement with East Sussex County Council to provide outreach advice
sessions at Children's Centres across the county.
March 2008
The Consortium has appointed a part-time
Co-ordinator. Geoff Brown who is currently the Chief Executive of
Hastings CAB will be working one day a week to support the work of the
Consortium and develop applications for funding. Geoff can be
contacted at Hastings CAB.
February 2008
The Consortium has agreed and published a new
Business Plan which you can find here
August 2007
Welfare Benefits and Debt Advice Caseworker
The Consortium has been successful in its bid for
a Welfare Benefits and Debt Advice Caseworker funded by the Royal
British Legion. This caseworker will be based in Eastbourne but will
work through out East Sussex to provide a service to former and existing
members of the UK Armed forces and their families.
July 2007
Eastbourne Bureau
Chris Whitwell, Bureau Manager,
has now resigned and is replaced by Alan Bruzon. Alan started with the
Bureau as a volunteer adviser in 2002.
May 2007
Citizens
Advice East Sussex
– Annual General Meeting
Citizens Advice East Sussex held its first Annual General Meeting on
the 20th March 2007
in Hailsham.
At
the meeting David Turner from the Hastings and Rother Bureau was elected
as Chair for the coming year and Michael Prescott from the Eastbourne
Bureau was elected as the Honorary Treasurer.
Three
additional Directors were nominated and elected to the Board of
Trustees. They were Marilyn Nicholson (Hastings and Rother CAB) Jerry
Noble (Wealden CAB) and John Boyle (Eastbourne CAB)
Children’s
Centres – East Sussex
East Sussex County Council has awarded the
consortium, circa £25,000 to provide general advice outreach sessions
in eight Children’s Centres across East Sussex
. The centres are located in Hastings , Rother, Wealden,
Eastbourne
and Lewes. In addition to the advice sessions two training sessions on
financial literacy will be provided in each of the centres.
Hastings
and Rother Citizens Advice
Bureau
Hastings and Rother CAB has appointed
Geoff Brown as its first Chief Executive. Geoff who previously worked
for VSO the International Development Charity that promotes and does its
work through volunteers commenced his new role with the Hastings and
Rother CAB on the 16th April 2007.
June 2006
The Hastings and
Rother CAB has recently been successful in securing £100,000 from
the Financial Inclusion Fund over a two year period. The monies will
be used to develop and provide debt advice to the
tenants of 1066 Housing
Association that is based in Hastings.
March 2006
Hastings and Rother CAB launched a
6-month tax credit take up campaign targeting lone-parents.
It is hoped that this project will
increase the income and employment opportunities for one of the most
disadvantaged groups within the community.
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