Finance Score: -1
Governance Score: 9
Support Score: 14
  • Poor Liquidity: -1
  • Deficit on unrestricted reserves: -2
  • Pension deficit: -1
  • Fundraising costs low: +3
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +14
Overall GiG Score: 22 ?

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAUX

Citizens Advice provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • Over half the Board have joined recently

Financial issues to consider:

  • Liquidity appears to have been slender at the latest year end
  • There was a deficit on unrestricted reserves of £10,047,000 at the last year end after deducting the value of own use assets
  • There is a pension deficit of £35,602,000

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit £k
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£166,319£153,402£12,917£1,760£11,831£-10,047-0.81,00916,000
31/03/22£153,624£151,053£2,571£1,716£9,665£-1,325-0.11,02418,500
31/03/21£162,631£168,822£-6,191£717£5,891£-5,239-0.41,0052,500
31/03/20£139,122£137,134£1,988£262£12,333£2,3270.29282,500
31/03/19£109,756£109,085£671£30£10,457£7560.18383,000
31/03/18£93,813£94,166£-353£37£8,811£-1,970-0.38030
31/03/17£99,110£103,947£-4,837£37£30,249£16,1901.97290
31/03/16£108,610£108,940£-330£37£20,710£-2,311-0.38160
31/03/15£88,242£82,580£5,662£252£35,790£10,7931.64490
31/03/14£77,217£69,771£7,446£279£29,951£7,2001.24270
31/03/13£77,553£69,611£7,942£207£22,528£5,63014130
31/03/12£62,771£59,589£3,182£648£14,447£5,7061.13960
31/03/11£62,326£62,367£-41£679£11,265£4,6820.94670
31/03/10£65,215£64,441£774£875£11,306£3,9020.75100
31/03/09£56,194£52,832£3,362£697£10,532£5,1141.24260
31/03/08£45,683£50,223£-4,540£775£7,170£3,8950.94200
31/03/07£46,692£42,877£3,815£1,651£11,710£2,8760.84110
31/03/06£37,637£37,515£122n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/05£36,353£39,686£-3,333n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/04£43,023£37,439£5,584n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 1.1%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 1.1%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 6%
Highest pay band: £150,000-£200,000
Liabilities/Assets: 19%
Liabilities/Income: 7%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: -85%
Reserves/Spending: -0.8 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 4 months
Quick Ratio: 3
Asset Split ?
Balance Sheet History
Established: 45 years

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

companysecretary@citizensadvice.org.uk

03000231231

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies House
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Education/Training
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
GiG Classification
  • Practical support, advice & companionship
How it operates
  • Acts as an umbrella or resource body
  • Makes grants to organisations
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
  • Sponsors or undertakes research
Where it operates
  • Scotland, Throughout England And Wales,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Elderly/Old People
  • Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
  • People Of A Particular Ethnic Or Racial Origin
  • People With Disabilities
  • The General Public/Mankind

Who supports them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
Department for Work and Pensions£97,287,862
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy£13,500,000
Ministry of Justice£11,255,444
The Legal Education Foundation£290,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Northamptonshire Community Foundation - Grant to Citizens Advice West Northamptonshire and Cherwell
£4,286 07/12/2023
Ongoing wraparound support service to continue the delivery of HSF vouchers
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£200,000 26/06/2023
24
towards the volunteering programme (over 2 years)
Nationwide Foundation - TVP2 - Citizens Advice
£155,833 28/11/2022
• This work is likely to include foregrounding tenants voice in the cost-of-living debate, in delivering an effective Renters’ Reform Bill, and in reforming the PRS more broadly with a focus on tenants most vulnerable to harm (e.g. property ....more
AB Charitable Trust - A grant to National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (Citizens Advice)
£30,000 21/04/2022
A restricted grant of £30,000 towards the expert immigration team. The National Association of Citizens Advice supports local Citizens Advice offices to deliver their services and to jointly deliver other services at a national level.
Department for Work and Pensions - UNIVERSAL CREDIT: HELP TO CLAIM (CITIZENS ADVICE)
£20,178,977 01/04/2022
The 'Help to Claim (Telephony/Digital) support offer, in partnership with Citizens Advice (CA) directly replaces the previous Citizens Advice 'Help to Claim' partnership that has been providing support for all people (circa 250k people per year) to ....more
Department for Work and Pensions - Grant for the provision of pension wise service (England & Wales&NI)
£10,272,000 01/04/2022
Grant for the provision of face to face and telephony pension wise appointments
Department for Work and Pensions - Cit A Grant for the provision of Debt Advice in England (innovations)
£4,401,445 20/03/2022
The provision of free to client debt advice (circa. 132,539 clients served) via a multi-channel approach across England in line with MaPS statutory remit as set out in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018.
Department for Work and Pensions - Cit A Grant for the provision of Debt Advice in England (f2f)
£21,503,514 20/03/2022
The provision of free to client debt advice (circa. 94,866 clients served) via a multi-channel approach across England in line with MaPS statutory remit as set out in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018.
Department for Work and Pensions - CitA Grant for the Administration of Debt Relief Orders
£607,000 20/03/2022
The administration of c. 3,651 Debt Relief Orders (DROs) by Competent Authorities within the debt sector in England.The Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 which established MaPS requires MaPS to have regard for those most in need. DROs are a ....more
Department for Work and Pensions - Cit A Grant for Covid 19: Increasing Debt Advice Capacity 2022
£1,498,156 20/03/2022
The provision of free to client debt advice as per the statutory remit set out in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018.The grant agreement is to fund the increased capacity of 53.5 FTE advisers.
The Legal Education Foundation - Transforming OISC Level 1 Immigration Advice delivered via the Citizens Advice Network
£290,000 16/06/2021
Improving the consistency, quality and sustainability of OISC Level 1 immigration advice across the local Citizens Advice network in England & Wales, via enhanced referral networks, a complete refresh of online resources for advisers and direct ....more
Nationwide Foundation - TVP1 - PRS research panel - additional funding
£45,888 06/04/2021
Extending the PRS project by nine months allows us to ensure that we make the most of this project to enhance the Renter’ Reform Coalition and gives us more time to take advantage of the strategic link with CA.
Ministry of Justice - Domestic Abuse Service pilot
£91,373 01/04/2021
To fund a domestic abuse service pilot scheme.
Nationwide Foundation - Citizens Advice Wellbeing Support
£2,000 12/02/2021
Wellbeing support
Department of Health - Citizens Advice
£30,000 28/08/2020
Grant funding to members of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance for priority project work in support of DHSC, NHS England and Improvement and PHE strategic priorities.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - VCSE COVID-19 Funding
£13,500,000 23/05/2020
Funding to support the Citizens Advice Bureaux
Department of Health - Citizens Advice
£60,636 28/04/2020
See HWA summary:Working with the VCSE sector - encourange two way flow of information and inteliigence betweeen the Sector and the System.
Department for Work and Pensions - UNIVERSAL SUPPORT: HELP TO CLAIM (CITIZENS ADVICE AND CITIZENS ADVICE SCOTLAND) (2020-2021)
£38,826,771 01/04/2020
Help to Claim is an offer designed and delivered by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland that provides trusted, independent, tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim.
Ministry of Justice - Court-Based Witness Service and Family Court Domestic Abuse Service
£11,164,071 01/04/2020
To deliver the court based witness service providing emotional and practical support and information to help witnesses give their best evidence in criminal proceedings.To provide emotional and practical support and information to to both applicants ....more
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Support for Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
£34,743,000 01/04/2019
To support the work of the CAB
Ministry of Justice - Court Based Witness Service
£11,182,071 01/04/2019
To deliver the court based witness service providing emotional and practical support and information to help witnesses give their best evidence in criminal proceedings.
Department for Work and Pensions - ALB - MaPS - Grant for Pension Appointments
£11,539,644 01/04/2019
Provision of Pension Advice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Department for Work and Pensions - ALB - MaPS - Grant for Debt Advice
£20,014,022 01/04/2019
Provision of debt advice
Department for Work and Pensions - Pension Wise CAB (2018)
£9,173,194 01/04/2018
For the delivery of pensions guidance
Ministry of Justice - Court based Witness Service
£11,658,000 01/04/2018
Provision of emotional and practical support and information for witnesses attending criminal courts in England and Wales.
Department for Work and Pensions - Pension Wise CAB
£10,097,000 01/04/2017
For the delivery of face to face pensions guidance
Department of Health - CAB-Health and Wellbeing Alliance
£58,871 01/04/2017
Health and Wellbeing Alliance
Ministry of Justice - Court based Witness Service
£12,000,000 01/04/2017
Support for witnesses attending criminal courts in England and Wales.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, UK Branch - The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
£17,000 31/05/2016
To develop a Retirement Planning Design Pioneer Programme that will prototype, develop and test up to 5 new services aimed at improving the finances, social inclusion and wellbeing of people approaching or living in retirement.
Ministry of Justice - Witness Service
£11,266,182 01/04/2016
12
To provide emotional and practical support to witnesses at criminal courts in England and Wales.
Comic Relief - Breaking the Silence- Gender Violence and Abuse (GVA) Routine Enquiry Programme
£128,429 30/09/2015
36
It is estimated that in 2012/13, 1.2 million women and 700,000 men experienced gender violence and abuse. The National Network of Citizens Advice Bureaux is the largest provider of free advice in the UK and is well-placed to help people open up ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Barrier-Busting with BSL
£297,592 23/09/2014
48
Not Available
Nesta - AR00151
£10,000 31/03/2014
Datakind programme grant to Citizens Advice Grant Ref AR00151
Northern Rock Foundation - Grant awarded to Citizens Advice - Northern Area (North East)
£1,616,498 03/04/2012
To provide telephone and face to face debt advice for individuals in financial crisis in the North East and Cumbria.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (11)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 10/11 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 32-76
  • DR BEVIS WATTS Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Chief Executive - Banking
  • FINOLA MARY MCDONNELL Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Chief Communications Officer
  • FRANK HONT Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Retired
  • JANINE LA ROSA Appointed: 2022
  • LEWIS BRENCHER Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Executive Director Of Communications & Engagement
  • LUCINDA MARGARET BELL Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Company Director
  • MARK ALLEN Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Retired
  • MATTHEW SWINDELLS (Chair) Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Director
  • ROXANE HEATON Appointed: 2023, Occupation: Chief Information Officer
  • SARAH ANNE WILSON Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Charity Trustee And Non-Exec Director
  • STEVE HUGHES Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Chief Officer
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 21/01/1980, number: 279057
  • Registered at Companies House on 13/07/1979, number: 01436945
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Fundraising Regulator
First registered: 09/01/2019, current status: Large charity (levy paid)
Other Regulators
  • Financial Conduct Authority
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Investing charity funds policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
20 returns made; all on time
Recent reorganisation events:
  • Asset transfer in from ALTON AND LOCAL PARISHES FUND on 01/08/2024
Main office

Citizens Advice
1 Easton Street
LONDON
WC1X 0DW

Objectives

1. THE CHARITY'S OBJECTS ARE TO PROMOTE ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, THE PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF HEALTH AND THE RELIEF OF POVERTY, SICKNESS AND DISTRESS.2. IN CARRYING OUT ITS OBJECTS AND IN ALL ASPECTS OF ITS WORK, THE CHARITY IS COMMITTED TO PROMOTING EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY, TO PREVENTING PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION, TO ENSURING EQUAL ACCESS TO AND TO PROMOTING GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN ALL SECTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY

Defined Area of Benefit:

UNITED KINGDOM

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
Charizone

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