- We know from feedback from residents and frontline workers that the range of services and access routes to advice can be confusing to navigate.
We also know that, whilst many services specialise in particular areas, residents don’t experience problems in isolation -for example, problems with debt are often related to problems with housing and may be related to problems with employment or discrimination.
We are concerned that simply signposting residents to multiple agencies that ‘might be able to help’ doesn’t always work. We therefore need to work together to effectively simplify access routes and integrate provision.
Our priority, therefore, is that advice and information provision is organised around the needs of residents. It should be straightforward for residents to understand where, when and how they can access advice and information to help them resolve their problems.
- We know that the funding environment for local advice providers is becoming increasingly tough
Our concern is that we make the best use of the resources we have between us and we develop services that can survive and thrive into the future
- We know that local advice providers are consistently reporting that demand for their services is exceeding supply
We also know that many of our residents from particular communities and client groups face barriers to accessing existing advice services
Our priority is, therefore, that we direct residents to the most appropriate advice and information services – ensuring we reach the residents that are most in need, not just those that can queue the longest:
- We know that many residents face barriers to getting online
We are concerned that this will cause problems for residents as an increasing number of services will be accessed primarily via the internet.
Our priority is therefore to develop advice provision that will help residents overcome these barriers.
- We know that many residents try and fail to resolve their problems online before approaching local face to face services.
Our priority is therefore to develop our local online service offer to residents.
- We know that Advice services are well placed to identify trends in the problems that resident face.
Our priority, therefore, is to enable advice providers to help to stop things going wrong in future for residents by gathering evidence and highlighting particular issues to other partners this can help to positively change local policies and practices.
- We know some of the residents who seek out Advice with money and housing related issues have underlying issues relating to skills and education.
Our priority therefore, is to work with the residents who seek advice to help identify and address these issues and ensure they are keyed into services that will help build their resilience and skills.