Liz Kendall visits Citizens Advice LeicesterShire to discuss Labour’s plans to tackle hardship in Leicester
Following her re-election as Labour’s MP for Leicester West, Liz Kendall has today (26th July) visited Citizens Advice LeicesterShire to discuss their support for people across the city and Labour’s plans to tackle hardship.
During the visit to the Citizens Advice offices on Granby Street, Ms Kendall met with team members and volunteers to hear about the organisation’s impact, the need for their service locally, and how people in Leicester can reach out for support.
In Leicester West, Citizens Advice supported 2,837 people with 12,282 issues over the last year – offering independent, confidential, impartial advice, free at the point of use advice. Across the city, they assisted 11,860 individual clients with 33,546 issues via phone or face to face appointments during the last year.
Citizens Advice estimated that an average household is £2,676.36 better off annually after receiving their advice.
During the visit, Ms Kendall discussed two major announcements from the last fortnight, with the launch of a Ministerial taskforce to kickstart work on child poverty strategy (that she will co-lead alongside the Education Secretary), and her landmark first speech to set out the Government’s plans to drive up Britain’s employment.
Liz Kendall, Labour MP for Leicester West, said:
“It was brilliant to meet with Citizens Advice LeicesterShire today to learn more about their support for local people, to discuss with them Labour’s plans to tackle hardship, and to thank the staff and volunteers for all they do for our community.
“For many people, Citizens Advice is the place to turn when the odds feel stacked against them and they don’t know where else to turn. I’m grateful to everyone at the organisation locally for their practical, reliable advice for my constituents and for people across Leicester.”
Vicky Gutteridge, CEO, Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, said:
“It has been great to discuss the real life challenges of people locally with Liz Kendall today. At Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, we have seen a significant rise in people living in negative budgets where their essential spending exceeds their income every month – this is the case for 10-12% of people living in Leicester – cutting back further would be harmful. We have seen a leap in the numbers of clients coming to us with debt issues and for crisis support too.”
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Notes:
Citizens Advice LeicesterShire is there for any resident in LeicesterShire, whoever they are and whatever their problem. Citizens Advice can be contacted at the following numbers: Leicester on 0808 278 7970 and in Leicestershire on 0808 278 7854.