Introduction  Advice Services  About Volunteering  Annual Report  Skegness  Mablethorpe  Louth Registered Charity Number 1099145 Company Limited by Guarantee Reg. No. 4740511 site designed & maintained by www.tinyislandsoftware.com	Information   Introduction The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Service works to fulfil two aims: To ensure that individuals do not suffer through a lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities or of the services available to them, or through an inability to express their needs effectively. And equally To exercise a responsible influence on the development of social policies and services, both locally and nationally. The advice given by bureaux is free, independent, impartial and confidential. The CAB Service: Informs people about the law and how it affects them; about their rights and responsibilities; about how they may be able to satisfy their needs Advises people on the options available to them and on potential consequences of different courses of action Supports people as they consider and decide what to do, listening to their concerns and helping them move forward Assists people in pursuing their chosen course of action by negotiation, representation and referral to other sources of help needed Influences those responsible for policies and services by bringing to their notice the problems people experience and recommending changes CABx deal with over six million enquiries a year, giving detailed information, advice and support to people on every subject. The majority of problems concern Social Security Benefits, Debt, Employment, Housing and the Law. There are currently nearly 700 main bureaux in England and Wales, and over 1000 sites where CAB advice is available. Over 15,000 trained volunteers work in the bureaux, together with paid staff including bureau managers and specialist advisers. In addition more than 7,000 volunteers serve on bureau management committees. Together they provide the largest advice service in the UK. Each bureau is a separate charity managed by it's own trustee board, and must meet strict quality standards in order to affiliate to Citizens Advice (the national control body) Citizens Advice provides a range of services to support individual bureaux in their work : these include the information system, training, field support, quality audits, social policy, press and publicity, parliamentary liaison and information technology.