First Minister Alex Salmond
Citizens Advice Scotland Conference
Wednesday August 15, 2007
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It's almost 70 years since the first Citizens Advice Bureau opened in Scotland. In the decades since, you've established yourself as one of Scotland's most trusted institutions - and our largest independent advice network.
I can talk from experience too.
Time and time again, I've heard my constituents tell me about the life-changing advice and support they have received from CAS advisers - on benefits, consumer issues, employment, housing, debt and many other issues.
And five years ago, I saw at first hand the fantastic work that you all do when I launched the Advice in Action programme in the Banff and Buchan bureau.
The title of this conference says it all, and says what we all know - your Advice Works.
As an organization, you ensure that people get access to the benefits that are rightly theirs and the treatment they deserve. You empower people who feel disenfranchised and over their heads in debt, and put them on the path to finding a way out, and taking control of their lives again. And you speak up for those who do not have a voice and those who come to you when they have no-where else to turn.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making Citizens Advice Scotland the amazing success story that it is today.
I want to thank the trained volunteers in particular, who so selflessly give of their time to help others, and do so without expectation of reward or pay. And who do so, day after day, year after year. This country would be immeasurably poorer without your contribution.
Advising and influencing - land attachment
There are, of course, two aims of CAS. Not only do you advise citizens on their rights but you also use your voice and your influence to campaign, to raise awareness of issues and to act as a catalyst for social change - here in Scotland and in the UK.
This SNP government values your contribution immensely, and the vital evidence that you provide. There are many areas where I believe we can continue to work together. To give you just one example - that I'm sure you'll recognise - we are very aware of your concerns about the introduction of land attachments. As you all know, the concept of land attachment was introduced into Scotland for the first time under the Bankruptcy & Diligence legislation passed in November of last year.
Of course, the issue of the fairness of land attachment and the potential for its abuse to make people homeless resulted in fierce debate in Stage 3 of that legislation.
During that debate, the SNP and others opposed the land attachment - and it was on the basis of briefings from CAS that we based our arguments.
Like you, we believed that the previous Executive was striking the wrong balance between the interests of debtors and creditors.
We believed that the threshold limit at which land attachment could be triggered - at £3,000 - was far too low. And like you, we thought that people should not be made homeless because of default on such a relatively small sum.
But there is a more important principle involved even than that. We believed that the risk was too high of unscrupulous creditors using the threat of homelessness to force vulnerable debtors to pay.
We still believe that and we promised in the debate in March on illegal money lending to remove the threat of someone's house being taken from them by a land attachment order.
Our commitment remains to exempt the main dwellinghouse from land attachment. Indeed we will go further. Under current arrangements, homelessness could arise if a debtor is bankrupted or signs a Protected Trust Deed. We will thoroughly review what can be done to ensure that people who become bankrupt are not made homeless unnecessarily.
Part of that review will mean talking to you in Citizens Advice Scotland - and, finding a way through this important area and achieving a fair deal for all.
So, in this, as in so many other important policy areas, we value the wider perspective that you in Citizens Advice Scotland bring to the table.
And, that's why my colleagues and I look forward to continuing to work with you in the months and years ahead.
Debt
Of course, all of us need advice sometimes, and in an increasingly complex world, it's no surprise that more and more people, from all walks of life, are coming to you for support - and that the demands being placed upon you are increasing.
Last year, you dealt with 440,000 new enquiries - equivalent to almost one in eight Scots - on a growing range of issues. Debt, of course, is becoming an increasingly pressing problem, with the amount of debt you handle more than tripling - from £60 million to £211 million - between 1999 and last year.
While individuals must take responsibility for their spending, they are entitled to protections from outrageous credit charges.
As you in CAS know only too well, the previous Scottish government presided over a debt crisis in Scotland and did nothing. Westminster has failed to tackle this growing problem too.
The previous Executive's Debt Arrangement Scheme has never really taken off. Numbers entering the scheme have been disappointingly low. We will review the recent changes and consider whether we need further measures to cancel debt.
We will monitor the difference these changes make - before deciding how best to move forward with the Debt Arrangement Scheme.
But, at the same time, we must step up our efforts to tackle the problem in a much more fundamental way. We must tackle the causes of personal debt, and not just the consequences.
That's just one good reason why my government is pushing for more powers for our Parliament.
CAB - a changing service
With two new probationary partners in place, there are now 77 CAS offices across Scotland, from Shetland to the Borders - and 215 service points providing advice in locations as diverse as sheriff courts and schools, colleges and hospitals, GP surgeries and clinics
One of the two new probationary offices is, of course, in my own constituency - indeed both my Holyrood and Westminster constituencies - and I want to congratulate everyone at the Turriff Advice Centre, now Turriff and District CAS, on becoming a part of the network.
From what I've seen, I am confident that they will meet the tough standards needed for full membership, and build on the service that they've been providing to people since 1990. And I'm sure the new centre here in Edinburgh will meet those standards too.
Of course, in the context of a changing Scotland, increasing the number of offices can only ever be part of the answer.
The way in which people want to engage is changing dramatically, and as Scotland becomes more and more diverse, new issues and new circumstances are emerging.
I want to congratulate you on the way in which you've used of technology to achieve your aims - launching initiatives like Adviser-net and Citizens Advice Direct in Glasgow.
And I welcome too, your determination to find innovative ways to address new issues as they emerge, and to support the needs of client groups who may not have come to you in the past.
From providing advice to migrant workers and their families in the Highlands, to helping older people to manage their finances in retirement, or giving information and advice to kinship carers, it's clear that your reach is growing all the time - and that more and more people are benefiting from that.
Conclusion
Yesterday, as you know we published our White Paper on independence. We too, need citizen's advice, so we're launching a national conversation with our citizens on Scotland's constitutional future - and encouraging everyone, including you in CAS, to have their say.
I believe it is through independence that we can do most to help our nation to flourish, to improve our quality of life - and to stop people from finding themselves in the kind of circumstances that so often leads them to your doors.
But, whatever our constitutional arrangements and no matter how well off we are, there will always be a need for Scotland's citizens to talk about their problems. Therefore, we will always need independent, reliable and accurate advice to help guide them at certain points in their lives.
For almost seven decades, Citizens Advice Scotland has been at the forefront of providing that advice, responding and adapting to the changes in this country over that time.
I am sure that you will continue to do so for many years and generations to come. Thank you.