Campaigning - why and how
Why
In the course of our work we see at first hand the effects of
policies and practices from government and non-governmental
agencies. This puts us in a good position to comment and to act.
Where policies or practices have a negative impact on CAB
clients, our Social Policy says that we should lobby for change.
This is the second of our twin aims: “To exercise a responsible
influence on the development of policies and services, both
locally and nationally”.
We are independent and impartial so policymakers listen to us.
Take a look at our success stories
and the Citizens Advice Social Policy video.
How
We collect evidence of CAB clients’ problems and use this to campaign for change in policies, laws and services. The evidence we collect is in the form of anonymous client cases.
We work on issues:
Locally
Clients come to us with problems. We help with the problem and
discover the root cause. We may find that policy or practice is
contributing to the problem. If so we gather more evidence,
analyse it, and use it to push for change. We may take the
matter up with the offending company, statutory body or
individual. We may also alert the local press and lobby local
MPs, and councillors.
If we think the problem is widespread, we also send evidence to
our national organisation, Citizens Advice.
and Nationally
Our national organisation, Citizens Advice, alerts us to current issues and asks us to look for evidence on them. For example, issues around child poverty and landlords hanging on to rent deposits. Nationally, Citizens Advice works with policymakers, regulators, MPs and Assembly members. It contributes to public debate, informs legislation and lobbies for change.
Campaigning for yourself
You may also want to contact your local MP or councillor,
yourself, about an issue that concerns you.
Find and contact your local MP by using this link -
www.theyworkforyou.com
or find and contact your local councillor via
www.councillor.gov.uk
Please let them know you reached them through the High Wycombe CAB
website.