Time for a National Strategy for Local Advice Services

27 October 2025

On 2 October, our campaign spokesperson, Geoff Fimister, spoke at the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) Conference in Telford. The IRRV is the national professional body for local government finance personnel.

Geoff highlighted the urgent need for a national strategy for local advice services, so that everyone, wherever they live, can access independent, high-quality advice about benefits and social security.

Right now, advice services across the country are stretched thin. Funding cuts and rising demand mean too many people are left without the help they need.

No one should be left to struggle alone. As we wrote in our response to the Government’s “Pathways to Work” Green paper earlier this year, we’re calling on the Government to work with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), local councils, and the advice sector to create and fund a proper national network of advice services.

“Once such a network is in place in any local area,” says Geoff, “it should be a requirement of benefit decision-makers to refer claimants to it where there appears to be a need for advice and always where an adverse decision has been made”.

Geoff repeated our call at the IRRV conference, after giving a brief history of advice services and pointing to the gaps in provision, the impact of cuts and the “threadbare network” we now have around the country. The Advice Local website can tell you what sources of advice are in your area, but what happens if there isn’t much?

With other organisations also calling for such a national strategy—including Advice UK and the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers—and with a rising level of need for advice, driven by the cost of living, it’s an idea that’s definitely overdue for delivery.

Help us spread the word! Share this message with a friend or colleague who cares about access to advice. The more people who know, the stronger our call for change becomes.

Find out more about what our campaign is calling for in our full campaign document.