At Citizens Advice across the UK, Universal Credit is the fastest growing advice area. Since the benefit has been rolled out, Citizens Advice has helped more than 175,000 people with Universal Credit issues.
Citizens Advice in West Sussex (North, South, East) is pleased to have been appointed by Citizens Advice to take on the role of Best Practice Lead for Sussex and Surrey, for Universal Credit support.
We will be gathering information about how Universal Credit support is performing across Sussex and Surrey, developing relationships with relevant local stakeholders, so that we can share ideas and best practice. Initially we’ve been liaising closely with Citizens Advice Arun & Chichester, and Citizens Advice Brighton & Hove, who have been piloting the Universal Support service. We will also be attending workshops with Citizens Advice colleagues nationally, to help develop the Best Practice Lead role for effective ways of working going forward.
The key aims of this important role are:
- To improve the experience for claimants and identify what extra support is needed
- To gather intelligence and insight on how Universal Credit support is working across our Jobcentre Plus district
- To work with other Best Practice Leads nationally to develop an approach to sharing this intelligence with relevant partners, including Jobcentres, local Citizens Advice and national Citizens Advice
- To develop strong local relationships with relevant regional stakeholders including local Citizens Advice, Jobcentres (at the district level), advice agencies and other voluntary sector organisations
- To support other local Citizens Advice with their relationships at a local level
- To help local Citizens Advice across the district to understand Universal Credit and track the experiences of clients.
We look forward to working in partnership for role, to support and help develop the service that Citizens Advice provides for people concerned about Universal Credit.
