Sharp rise in Roxburgh and Berwickshire debt cases

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

The number of new clients with debt issues who sought help from one of the Scottish Borders citizens' advice bureaux shot up by more than 50 per cent in 2017/18 with the amount owed by people with money problems spiralling by 107 per cent.year on year.

Figures contained in the annual report of Roxburgh & Berwickshire Citizens' Advice Bureau show 119 individuals brought debt problems to the organisation's four advice centres in Hawick, Kelso, Duns, Eyemouth and an outreach facility in Jedburgh. In 2016/17 the comparable total was 77 new cases resulting in a 54 per cent increase over 12 months.

Over the two financial years the total debt involved in new referrals rose hugely from £1,151,809 to £2,387,510. The respective average debts per new case were £14,958 in 2016/17 and £20,063 in 2017/18.

The bureaux in the Scottish Borders - Roxburgh & Berwickshire CAB together with Central Borders CAB and Peebles & District CAB - provide the benefits advice service on behalf of Scottish Borders Council after successfully bidding for the work.

In Roxburgh & Berwickshire's case the annual report shows the 40 volunteers together with paid staff achieved financial gains for clients totalling £1,438,797.

Scotland's network of 60 CABs dealt with 133,593 debt cases in 2017/18 and supplied advice on benefits on 332,298 occasions. Overall the Scottish bureaux helped their clients gain £138 million.

The latest data from Roxburgh & Berwickshire coincides with a newly announced initiative by CAB Scotland to try to bring greater financial stability to those individuals and families who are grappling with money issues.

Citizens Advice advisers are to provide a new service aimed at giving Scots a ‘financial health check’ to see if they are eligible for additional support that they may not know about.

The new service is funded by £3.3 million from the Scottish Government over the next two years, and was launched in Dumfries last week.

Initially the service will be available by telephone (0800 085 7145), but CABs across Scotland will also be offering a face-to-face version by January 2019.

The financial health check involves a short confidential interview with a CAB adviser and is available free to anyone who asks for it, or any CAB client whose adviser feels might benefit from it.

Launching the service Citizens Advice Scotland Chief Executive Derek Mitchell said:“Research has shown that around half a million Scots are not claiming all the support they are entitled to. That means families are struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table while missing out on financial assistance that could make a crucial difference. This service is all about identifying those people and linking them up with the grants, benefits or support that they need.

“The CAB service already does work every day to help people who are struggling, but it is an ongoing battle to make sure we are reaching all the people who need this support, so the funding we have received for this new service is extremely welcome and will allow us to offer this crucial help to thousands more people who could benefit from it.”