Annual Report 2013 to 2014
Company Registration No. 2994776 Charity No. 1084632
West View Advice & Resource Centre Limited. A Company Limited by Guarantee, whose registered address is The Community Centre,
Miers Avenue, Hartlepool, TS24 9JQ. Incorporated in England and Wales
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background
Company Structure as at April 2014
Chairperson’s Report
Manager’s Report
What Services do we offer?
Community Centre Report
Macmillan Advice Service Report
Debt Advice Service Report
Outreach Service Report
General/Employment Advice Report
HAPEN (Hartlepool Advice Partnership Evolving Network) Project
Future Plans for 2014-15
Thanks to our Funders
Organisational Details
Annual File Review
Client Satisfaction Survey Results
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WEST VIEW ADVICE AND RESOURCE CENTRE
BACKGROUND
West View Advice and Resource Centre Limited (WVARC) was established in 1983
to provide advice and information to individuals and groups in the West View Area.
In the intervening 30 years it has established an enviable reputation as the leading
such agency working throughout the whole of Hartlepool and is the current holder of
the Universal Welfare Benefits contract for Hartlepool Borough Council. WVARC is
proud to have held and retained its Quality Mark since 2001 and this year improved
its’ status, gaining an extra Matter Category of Employment Advice.
The main business of WVARC is currently to offer welfare benefits advice and
support to disadvantaged people within Hartlepool on issues such as debt, housing
benefit, disability benefits and welfare rights. Services are offered via centre based
appointments, outreach work and limited home visits.
Due to the government’s austerity measures, West View Community Centre was
under threat of closure, so in 2012, in partnership with West View Project, WVARC
moved its services to West View Community Centre to operate and manage an
accessible community centre within the Brus ward securing existing community
services and developing new activities for the benefit of the residents.
This year the organisation has taken the lead in a new project, HAPEN, which is
funded by the Big Lottery Advice Service Transition Fund. The project aims to
increase the sustainability of advice services in Hartlepool, through working in
partnership with external organisations. The founding members and key partners of
the project are ourselves as the lead, Age UK Teesside, Hartlepool Credit Union,
Street League and West View Project.
The organisation aims to continue to provide for the residents of Hartlepool a
resource centre service, which is sustainable in the long-term focusing on the needs
of the area.
The Centre’s aims are:
 To maintain our awareness of the needs of the community
 To ensure strategically and financially that the Centre is able to continue to play its part in
addressing those needs.
 To assess our effectiveness in carrying out that responsibility.
Thus achieving the following objectives:
 Maintain a free welfare rights advice service.
 Assist in the regeneration of an extremely deprived community through the provision of adult
education and training programmes.
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COMPANY
STRUCTURE
as at March 2014
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dave Wise
Jane Shaw
Sheila Griffin
Rob Cook
Trevor Rogan
Chris Simmons
Chair
Director
Director
Director
Director
Treasurer
CENTRE MANAGER & COMPANY SECRETARY
(Quality Rep)
Val Evens
Katherine Urwin – Senior Debt Advisor
(Advice Supervisor & Quality Rep)
Alison Thompson – Senior
Macmillan Advisor
(Advice Supervisor & Quality Rep)
Dawn Clennett
– HAPEN Project
Co-Ordinator
Carol Jones – WVP
Community
Development Worker
Lindsay McGregor –
(Volunteer)
Martin Ventris – Debt Advisor
Jodie Hind –
HAPEN/WVARCSenior
Admin/Reception
Julie Boyd – Advice Worker
Clair Gilbraith – Advice Worker
Sam Dunn – Advice Worker
ADMIN/REC
Abigail Thompson Data Input
UTILITIES
Lou Gordon
(wvp)
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Rachel Ness – HAPEN
Admin
CHAIRPERSONS REPORT
With the help of our funders’ we have continued the investment in our new building still lovingly known as ‘The
Money Pit’. This year we have replaced the central heating boiler in the Resource area, (formerly the library), we
have completed a full refurbishment to the kitchen, created a new reception and waiting area, to improve the
confidentiality aspect for our clients, replaced outside lighting and added additional security shutters.
In our day job, of delivering advice, despite all the welfare reforms and government restrictions, we have still
secured an estimated £3 million pounds in benefits awards for our clients.
This year has been a year of change for the advice service and I would like to welcome to the team Dawn Clennett,
Rachel Ness, Martin Ventris and Sam Dunn. In the roll of honour I must congratulate Clair Gilbraith (formerly
Thompson and Katherine Parker (formerly Urwin) on their wedding and I and all of the members of the Board wish
them all long and happy marriages.
I would also like to welcome Carol Jones to the team, who although employed by West View Project, in the role as
Community Development Worker works with both West View Project and West View Advice & Resource Centre to
develop the community services and activities of the Community Centre.
The Macmillan coffee morning was very well attended and raised over £600 pounds, thanks go to the organisers
and the contributors, especially for the homemade cakes and pies, which as always went down an absolute storm.
I look forward to this years which will be taking place in September.
So overall another different but good year, none of which could have been achieved without the continued
dedication of our staff and volunteers and the continued support of our funders.
Dave Wise
Chairman
April 2014
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MANAGERS REPORT
Like last year I want to start my report with thanks to the staff, volunteers and the funders, as without them
we could not continue to deliver the values of this organisation, which are that we exist is for the benefit of
the clients and not that the clients exist for the benefit of the organisation.
I am overwhelmed by the dedication of the staff and volunteers, always willing to go the extra mile for our
clients and the pride that they take in the quality of the service they deliver, reflected both by the accolade
of continuing good external audit results, client satisfaction survey feedback, thank you cards and the reaward of contracts and funding from our funders, showing their faith in us to deliver our services to the
residents of Hartlepool.
Every year I seem to say our service has undergone changes and again this year is no different. Due to the
successful application to the Big Lottery Advice Service Transition Fund, we have now developed an online
booking and referral system and although in its infancy, the system is producing some good results. The
one thing that does not change is the demand for the service, which seems to increase year on year,
therefore we have introduced a text reminder service for our clients, to ensure that there are minimum
wasted appointments and hopefully reducing the waiting time for appointments for our clients.
We have seen a number of changes to the staff team, firstly two of the team have taken the plunge and got
married, so whilst they have been with us for a number of years, they have new names, Katherine Parker,
formerly Urwin and Clair Thompson now Gilbraith. Additionally I would like to welcome Dawn Clennett,
Rachel Ness, Martin Ventris and Sam Dunn to the team.
Once again we have been successful in our Tender to Hartlepool Borough Council and will be delivering the
Universal Welfare Benefits Contract from April 2014 to end of March 2015.
All in all It’s quite an exciting year ahead, as we have new team members, new systems and a new project to
deliver.
Valerie A Evens
Centre Manager
April 2014
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WHAT SERVICES DO WE OFFER?
We provide free, confidential and impartial advice to help the people of Hartlepool resolve their problems. We are
equipped to deal with issues spanning from debt to housing to welfare benefits.
Areas of Advice covered
Welfare Benefits
Housing Benefits
Form Filling
Calculations
Home visits for Macmillan
Disability Benefits
Debt
Family Personal
Employment
In the last year alone, we have again helped over 4000 individuals with over 5700 interviews being carried out.
However, we are not just here for times of crisis as preventative advice is also available.
We recognise that more and more people want to see us at different locations and thus the services which we offer
are town-wide. Our outreach services are well attended and we are always looking to ensure that advice is
available in the most deprived areas.
Hours and Times of Availability
In Centre at Miers Avenue
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
9.00 am – 7.30 pm for appointments
7.30 am – 5.00 pm for appointments
9.00 am – 7.30 pm for appointments
7.30 am – 5.00 pm for appointments
9.00 am to 5.00 pm for appointments
Drop-in Sessions (times may be subject to change)
Monday
9.00 am – 12 noon & 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Wednesday 1.30 pm – 3.30 pm
Friday 9.00 am – 12 noon
From April 2014 Outreach Services available:
Monday
Tuesday
Tuesday
9.00 am to 12.00 noon
9.00 am to 12.00 noon
9.00 am to 12.00 noon
Jutland Road Community Centre, Jutland Road
Hindpool Children’s Centre, Hindpool Close
Lynnfield Children’s Centre, Elcho Street
Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
9.00 am to 12 noon
9.00 am to 12 noon
9.00 am to 1.00 pm
Chatham Children’s Centre, Chatham Road
Burbank Community Centre, Burbank Street
Wynyard House, Wynyard Road
Thursday
Thursday
Thursday
Friday
9.00am to 12 noon
1.00pm to 4.00pm
1.30pm to 3.30pm
9.00 am to 1.30pm
Stranton Children’s Centre, Westmoreland Street
Headland Future, 3 Abbey Street
The Orb Centre, Oxford Road
Rossmere Children’s Centre, Rossmere Way
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The Community Centre
This year we were able to secure funding to employ a part-time Community Development Worker –
Carol Jones. This addition to the team has provided both opportunity and capacity to encourage
greater use of the centre and to extend the range of activities on offer to local people. This work has
included:
 Concentrated efforts on increasing and delivering a variety of educational/self-development &
leisure courses.
 Community Centre information has been updated and issued via letter box drops to residents
and to local businesses throughout the locality. Notice boards within the centre are updated
weekly.
 Our ‘activities & events’ information is displayed in the ‘Neighbourhood Notice Boards’ located
at Davison Drive and Brus Corner shopping parades.
 Helping groups who use the community centre to promote their work and increase their
membership
 Increased hands-on support for groups in the area seeking funding, help with application
processes and guidance with the completion of funders monitoring forms. For example
Community First Panel (De Bruce Ward) & Ward Cllr Grants.
 Supporting the development of new initiatives and encouraging greater networking
opportunities between organisations which are to the benefit of the centre users and local
residents eg Energy Best Deal presentations.
 Recruitment and support of volunteers.
 Development and support of new groups - Friends of West View Community Centre & North
Hartlepool Young People’s Archery Group.
 The introduction of coffee mornings hosted by the Friends of West View Community Centre.
The centre has also held a variety of events such as Community Funday,
Macmillan Coffee Morning, Halloween Party and a Christmas Pantomime.
More activities will be planned in the year ahead to engage more local
residents to help sustain this important community asset. In the last
twelve months, over 15,000 people have accessed the building for leisure,
social and educational activities.
Many of the groups and activities and essential repairs have benefitted
from funding from Community First administered by the Brus Community Panel.
De Bruce Ward Community Panel 2013 – 2014
The Community Panel Committee welcomed a new member to the team this year - Carol Jones
(Community Development Worker). Carol has taken on Secretariat and monitoring roles for the
group.
During the year the committee have received a number of applications from local groups and
organisations who deliver social, leisure and other important support services to people of all ages
within the ward catchment area.
A total of 8 grants were made this year to existing groups/organisations to continue their work,
delivering services and to encourage social groups to continue to use West View Community Centre
as a hub of ‘local activity’ at the heart of the community.
A further 2 grants were made to new groups this year the North Hartlepool Young People’s Archery
Club and the Friends of West View Community Centre.
The value of grants made this year total £8487.00
The Community Panel Grants scheme enters its final year during 2014/15 with a grant pot of
£11,309 being available.
For further information on this please visit www.brushartlepool.moonfruit.com
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MACMILLAN ADVICE SERVICE REPORT
The Macmillan Advice Service helps people and their relatives, whose lives are affected by cancer,
with benefits advice and information, it is now in its fourth year and continues to go from strength
to strength. Assisting 405 households with benefit enquiries, achieving the following financial
outcomes:
 Regular weekly Benefits Payments Applied For
£1,302,807.90
 Regular Weekly Benefit Payments Reported as Awarded
£776,814.60
 Backdated & One off Payments Awarded
£161,300.18

Weekly Benefits Payments Assumed Successful
£1,107,386.70
It has always been a much used service with referrals coming from a number of sources, including
Macmillan Nurses, District Nurses, Social Workers etc.
I was contacted by Macmillan head office last year to ask if a client of mine would appear in a
countrywide fundraising campaign to highlight the cost of cancer. Myself and the Macmillan Nurse
were also asked to be interviewed to show how Macmillan helps the client/patient. So with glad
rags on we all had our photos taken and in March of this year the fundraising pack was sent to
thousands of existing Macmillan supporters across the United Kingdom and I understand over
£200,000 was raised.
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Day to day, the service is very well used, the clients that I see are going through what is probably one
of the worst periods of their life and if I can help them even one little bit then I have done my job.
I always say that if it was me what would I want someone to do? and the answer would be help me
with the financial stress and I can just concentrate in coping with my diagnosis/treatment and
hopefully this is what clients gain from me.
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Macmillan Case study
Initially Mr H was advised by his Chemotherapy nurse to attend the Macmillan Advice
Service at West View Advice & Resource Centre, in Hartlepool. He had been diagnosed
with Lung Cancer and was to begin his Chemotherapy treatment soon.
He attended the West View office in a pretty desperate state. He was only in receipt of
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) £71.70 per week. We discussed him making an
application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), as during the course of the interview
it came to light that he was having great difficulties with his walking and was struggling with
care tasks. I also advised him that if we could have a claim for PIP awarded it would
increase his ESA and give him some extra money to live off. We made a telephone application
for PIP. Mr H told me that his condition was curable.
He told me that there had been a £70 charge added to his Council Tax account as he had
missed a few payments when he had no money, I rang the Council Tax Department and
explained his situation, they agreed to remove the charge.
A few weeks later Mr H had asked me to visit him at home, he had started his treatment and
was a bit confused, he could not remember why he had asked me to visit.
I have visited lots of clients in their homes over a number of years but the property that he
lived in was in a terrible state and one of the worst I had been to, it was a privately rented
property that was very damp with mouldy walls and on walking in the front door the feeling
of damp hit you. His Macmillan Nurse later told me that when she had visited her clothes
had been wet from sitting on his sofa. He could not afford to put the heating on. He told me
that his nurse and his Social Worker were all very concerned about him and were trying to
get him re-housed.
His Macmillan Nurse rang me prior to the visit to tell me that Mr H would now, not get
better from his diagnosis and that there was a DS1500 form at his GPs surgery to fast track
his PIP application, I collected the form for him and forwarded this to ESA and to PIP.
Mr H had taken out a loan with a local loan company, he had taken it out for his daughter
who had been refused a loan, he was really struggling to pay the £30 per fortnight that was
due, I advised him I could call them, explain his situation and ask if they could reduce the
payments with no extra charges being added, he did not want them to know the loan had been
for his daughter, who was now not speaking to the client, they agreed he could pay as little as
he wanted in the circumstances with no charges added.
He was desperate to move but was very worried that if he was offered somewhere he would
not be able to afford to move. The next time I visited, his property was even colder and Mr H
was sitting with his winter coat on in his living room, he was not well, he was still having his
Chemotherapy and was going to view a bungalow that week.
He rang me the following week to let me know that he had been awarded PIP and his ESA
had been increased and he was now receiving another £243.00 per week, for someone who
had been living off £71.70 a week it was unbelievable to have this income, he had been to see
the bungalow, liked it and was moving in 2 weeks later. He could afford to buy new furniture,
carpets etc.., which he had never been able to afford to do in the past, he later told me that he
had previously lived on the streets and even living in the damp house was better than having
to do that again.
He could now afford to eat properly, fresh foods that he had not previously been able to
afford, he could now eat 3 proper meals a day and was able to afford taxis to get him around,
rather than having to walk everywhere. When he had first come to see me he had walked from
the town centre to West View, an approximate distance of 2 miles, as he could not afford the
bus fare.
Whilst the support our service provided does not change his diagnosis, it does have a positive
impact on both his physical and mental well-being, through the maximisation of his income
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and subsequently by resolving his housing issues and puts Mr H in a better position to
manage his illness, encouraging and enabling him to take responsibility for his own self –
care, alleviating the pressure on his GP with regards to non-health related issues.
This year is a pivotal year for this service as the current funding arrangements with Macmillan are
due to come to an end in July 2014, and whilst West View Advice & Resource Centre are working
very hard to try to secure further funding, the future is as always not certain.
Alison Thompson
Senior Macmillan Advice Worker
April 2014
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DEBT ADVICE SERVICE REPORT
The welfare reforms which came into force on 1 st April 2013 has been one of the key reasons for both families
and individuals seeking debt advice from our centre over the past year. The residents of Hartlepool, like many
others across the country, were faced with their income reducing and their expenditure increasing. This was the
last straw for many, tipping them from ‘just getting by’ to no longer being able to cope financially.
Our centre successfully secured additional funding from Hartlepool Borough Council to allow us to prioritise
those clients affected by the welfare reforms, largely the under-occupation charge (better known as the bedroom
tax) and the local council tax support scheme, for a limited period whilst clients adjusted to the changes to their
income and expenditure. We supported these individuals/families by looking to maximise income, reduce
expenditure, providing education on prioritising their financial commitments and by providing debt advice. We
assisted many people in downsizing their properties to avoid being hit with the bedroom tax and assisted many
in applying for discretionary housing payment assistance whilst they worked to improve their situation.
Case Study (Welfare Reform)
Mrs S is a divorcee living in a four bedroomed Housing Hartlepool property with her two nondependant daughters who are both full-time students. Mrs S has lived in her property for 20 years
bringing up her four children, two of which have now flown the nest. She is now under-occupying by
one bedroom and, as she is of working age and in receipt of council tax benefit, she is also affected by
the Local Council Tax Scheme.
Mrs S had a breakdown approx. 14 months ago and is still suffering with severe mental health issues.
Mrs S’s condition was starting to improve however the stress of the bedroom tax and the local council
tax scheme has exacerbated her condition, under which she self-harms. Mrs S remains under the care
of a counsellor/support worker for her mental health issues. Mrs S approached our centre for advice in
relation to her finances as she is finding it almost impossible to meet the shortfall in her housing and
council tax benefit. She is currently unfit for work and receives ESA (Support Group). Under previous
rules, Mrs S would have been entitled to full housing and council tax benefit.
Mrs S explained that she is registered with Compass and actively bidding on all properties available,
no matter what area, which are of a suitable size for her needs. Mrs S advised that unfortunately
people of a higher priority were also bidding on the properties and so she kept missing out. She
explained that she had got to number 1 on one property but was told she could not have the property
but was unclear why.
Mrs S brought piles of documentation to her initial appointment, among which I discovered an ESA50
form with a deadline for completion looming. Mrs S advised that she did not understand the form so
had “just left it.” I explained to Mrs S that non-completion of the form would result in her ESA being
suspended. Supporting Mrs S in completing this form was prioritized as if she had no income, she
would be unable to pay both her rent and council tax shortfall.
I next reviewed Mrs S’s housing and council tax benefit decision notice and it came to my attention
that Mrs S was being charged a non-dependent deduction from her council tax benefit yet there was
no deduction from her housing benefit. I spoke to an advisor in Revenues & Benefits at HBC who could
not understand this. They investigated and came back to me advising that one of Mrs S’s non-deps
had been flagged as a student for housing benefit only and as a result a non-dep charge had been
applied to her council tax benefit. The advisor rectified this which resulted in Mrs S receiving
backdated benefit of £509 and an increase in her council tax benefit of over £10 per week. It was also
identified that Mrs S was not receiving the 25% single person rebate on her council tax account. We
supported Mrs S in approaching HBC regarding this. Mrs S was issued with an enquiry form which she
completed and in turn was awarded over £1500 in backdated discount.
I contacted Compass (Allocations) to enquire what the issue was in relation to the property she was
number 1 for but was unsuccessful. I was advised that due to her health issues, Mrs S needed an
assessment by the independent living team before a property could be offered. She had been down for
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an assessment for some time but no appointment had yet been made. I explained Mrs S’s situation
and queried if anything could be done to hurry things up. An assessment was scheduled within two
days of my telephone call. I was also successful in getting some DHP awarded for Mrs S from Housing
Hartlepool to assist her with the bedroom tax charge whilst she awaits being re-housed. Budgeting
advice was also provided which again helped to make things more manageable in relation to the
bedroom tax.
Overall, Mrs S was better off by £4052.41 from visiting our centre. She also avoided having her benefit
stopped and speeded up the process of being able to find another property.
The demand for our debt advice service has never been higher and we continue to operate a waiting list system,
allocating the soonest and most suitable appointment available to clients as soon as it becomes available. We
continue to contract with Housing Hartlepool, offering those tenants referred to ourselves by Housing
Hartlepool priority appointments for dealing with their benefit and debt issues.
Case Study (Housing Hartlepool Referral)
Miss C was referred by Housing Hartlepool for some debt advice due to her rent account being
“seriously in arrears.” Miss C explained to me that she was a full-time student at University up until 6
months ago when she successfully completed her course. Since then she has been unsuccessful in
securing employment and feels that this is the reason she is struggling financially. Miss C explained
that she has one dependent child at home with her and she is currently working part-time (25 hours
per week). She started this job approx. 4 months ago and initially she got a lot of overtime however
this has no longer happening and she is now struggling more than ever financially.
Miss C had debts consisting of rent arrears and three credit cards. Miss C was paying her credit cards
regularly, albeit at a reduced amount, but her rent was only getting paid now and then and at a rate
insufficient to cover her current rent never mind anything off her arrears which were over £1000 at her
first contact with us. Miss C was educated on the importance of paying her rent over other debts
which do not have such serious consequences for non-payment. A benefit check was carried out with
Miss C to see if her situation could be improved by additional benefit entitlements. Unfortunately, she
had nil entitlement to any benefits due to her income however we were able to improve her situation
by providing her with some budgeting advice which resulted in a reduction of some of her outgoings
This meant that she had more money left over at the end of the month to help her get back on top of
things. Whilst looking at Miss C’s budget, we were able to identify how much she could realistically
afford to contribute to her debts rather than her guessing a figure, paying it for so long and then
realising that the amount was actually not sustainable.
Overall, with the budgeting and debt advice provided, Miss C was supported in saving £3468 over a 12
month period. Her rent is now paid regularly and in full, with an amount reducing the arrears each
month.
My role within the organisation continues to be that I not only deliver debt advice and supervise the debt team
but I am also responsible for the quality of the advice that our service delivers on the whole and I also manage
the training needs of our organisation. I continue to represent our organisation at many meetings and I continue
to participate in the Welfare Reform Operational Group. I feel that our involvement in such groups is extremely
important as we identify actions which can tackle head on the issues that our clients face.
Looking ahead, the key to meeting the demand for our debt service in the future is securing sufficient funding to
allow us to do so. Our Centre Manager does an excellent job in identifying and applying for any suitable pots of
money and I support her where I can with these applications. As changes to the benefits system continue to be
implemented, my task over the coming year continues to be that I need to ensure I not only keep up-to-date with
all relevant benefit changes but also that my team are prepared.
Katherine Urwin
Senior Debt Advice Worker
April 2014
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GENERAL ADVICE – Outreach, Drop-in and Home Visits
Our Advice service continues to be extremely busy, as each year we see an increase in clients
accessing our services and this last year has been no exception. It has been a privilege to be part of
a strong team that continues to grow and adapt to the changes we face during welfare reform.
INDIVIDUALS REPORTING
Affected by Local Council Tax Scheme
Affected by Under-occupancy
800
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We continue to provide Benefit Advice from our main office within the community centre, but also
continue the strong links we have with the Childrens Centres within Hartlepool. Most days of the
week we have an outreach worker based at one of the Childrens Centres, we attend Hindpool ,
Lynfield, Chatham, Stranton and Rossmere Childrens Centres. This gives us a great opportunity to
see our clients in a friendly, familiar and local setting were we can refer for other types of help or
can be referred to, to give a holistic service to our clients.
We also provide a drop in service four times per week, two on a morning, one on an afternoon and
one on an evening to cater for all people whatever their circumstances. The drop in service is
extremely busy, we give each client 20 minutes for initial or urgent advice if they are unable to wait
for a full appointment. Often the matter is resolved within that time, for other more complex cases a
further appointment is needed and made for the client, but we are able to begin assisting the client
immediately.
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CASE STUDY – DROP IN
‘Mrs G came into drop-in as she has reached Pension age and had started to get her
retirement pension. She had received the first payment and the next payment was not in her
account when she went for it. She was very concerned and came into the drop in for
assistance, we rang the Pension Service who informed us it was an error on their part and
they would send an urgent email to rectify the problem.
The client came back several days later as the money was still not in her account, again we
rang the Pension Service and we were assured the money would be in her account within a
few days. The following pay day the client went to the bank and her money had still not been
paid into the account. Once again, she returned to drop in and we spoke to the Pension
Service they said there was a mistake on the account as they believed the lady wanted her
pension every 2 weeks when she had in fact requested it weekly, which we had addressed at
the first visit. We were promised that the problem was now resolved.
A few days later the lady returned to drop in, the promised payments had not been made, by
this point she was starting to get very upset and could not see the problem ever being
resolved. The lady had a history of anxiety and depression and was finding it difficult to cope
and had had to see her GP for medication for her anxiety. It had been several weeks since
the lady had first approached us with this problem, she was very concerned about spending
her money and paying her bills as she did not know when she would next be paid.
I rang Pension Services and logged an official complaint, the response to the problem had
not been resolved and the lady was not satisfied. The problem was resolved within that week.
Mrs G was so relieved and very grateful that the drop-in had been available to help her when
she had needed it most.’
I also carry out home visits each week for those clients who are housebound, I believe this is a
valuable service for clients who would otherwise not be able to access our services and would
struggle to receive any assistance.
My job as an advice worker continues to bring me a great deal of satisfaction, it constantly
challenges me and it’s a privilege to be part of a strong team, who work together to continue the
quality service we have built up over the years.
Julie Boyd
Outreach Advice Worker
April 2014
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General/Employment Advice
I have been working at West View Advice & Resource Centre since January 2012 as a General Advice
Worker and during the past year, have taken on the role of Employment Advisor and have supported
57 individuals delivering over 100 interviews to resolve employment issues on our clients’ behalf.
Employment Case study
‘Following a stroke and heart problems, Mr F is on the sick from work he needed our
assistance as during this time his employer had both reduced his working hours and changed
his job role without any consultation.
We advised Mr F that he would need to raise a grievance and complaint with his employer
with regards to the changes and also advised that as there is a three month time limit to take
a case to Employment Tribunal that it would be prudent to lodge an Employment Tribunal
claim on-line, to ensure that there would be some re-course should the grievance not be
resolved without external intervention.
We assisted Mr F in writing a letter to his employer raising a grievance about the change of
status and requested payment of outstanding holiday pay. The employer invited Mr F to a
meeting to discuss the issues raised in the grievance however, the issues were not resolved.
The Employment Tribunal intervened contacting the employer directly with regards to the
change in job role and reduction in hours. This resulted in the employers inviting Mr F to a
further meeting, at which the employers issued an apology and Mr F was re-instated to his
previous position, outstanding holiday pay was awarded and re-imbursement of the £250
Tribunal fee.
Mr F is still on the sick but is relieved that when he is fit to return to work he will do so at his
previous level.’
Additional to the Employment Law, my role involves delivering general advice in various outreach
venues across Hartlepool, I regularly attend Burbank Community Centre, Headland Future Building,
Rossmere Children’s Centre and also Hindpool Children’s Centre. We try to see people in the areas
where they live, operating in venues that are embedded in to the heart of the community, not only
saving our clients travel, but also ensuring they have access to services in locations that are familiar
to them.
In our main centre I work on the Drop-in sessions which gives client’s 20 minutes initial and valuable
advice dealing with queries and assessing whether clients need further support through a full advice
appointment.
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One afternoon a week I deliver advice through home visits, for those clients who are housebound
and who otherwise would not be able to access the services.
The team that I work with have varied experience and knowledge of benefits and debt advice and
we all support each other. We are updated with all the benefit changes via training sessions and I
also attend external training courses and network meeting for updates regarding Employment Law
so that I give the correct up to date information to the clients who need employment advice.
My job continues to challenge me and I enjoy dealing with client’s problems and helping their
situations. It is a very rewarding job and I look forward to another year ahead.
Clair Gilbraith
Generalist Advice Worker
April 2014
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HAPEN ADVICE NETWORK REPORT
The Hartlepool Advice Partnership Evolving Network (HAPEN) is a
collaboration of advice agencies and local community organisations
who have agreed to work together to improve the availability of
advice services provided to the residents of Hartlepool. It has been
funded for 2 years from September 2013 by the Big Lottery Advice
Services Transition Fund. WVARC is the lead organisation and chairs
the Project Management Board which is made up of the other
partner organisations – Age UK Teesside, Hartlepool Credit Union, Street League and West View
Project.
Membership of HAPEN Advice Network is free and is open to all organisations from the voluntary,
community, public and private sectors that provide advice services or who signpost or refer
Hartlepool residents to advice services. To date we have 17 organisations signed up as Network
Member organisations.
The idea is that, by working together, improving communication, and sharing information between
advice agencies and community organisations, we can improve advice services in Hartlepool.
Since its inception in September 2013 we have held a series of Launch and Consultation Events to
help us ascertain the views of the residents we serve as to how they would like to see their advice
services develop in the coming years.
Feedback from these events has resulted in us establishing five new services, all for a trial six month
period, as follows:
Out of Hours Specialist Advice Appointments: additional out of hours appointments from 7:30am on
two mornings each week, provided by West View Advice & Resource Centre (WVARC). This service
commenced 6 January 2014 and over a six month period will result in an additional 208
appointments. To date this service is proving extremely popular with all appointments being
booking and a very low non-attendance rate.
Advice as You Like It: Specialist advice can now be accessed by telephone and email. HAPEN in
partnership with Age UK Teesside are providing this service which is available to ANYONE aged 16
plus. The telephone advice is available on a Thursday & Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm by telephoning
01429 265392 and the email advice can be obtained Monday to Friday at
infoandadvice@ageukteesside.org.uk
Jobs & I.T. club for 16-25 year olds: Street League is running a Job Club to help 16-25 year olds not in
employment, education or training to find work. The sessions are from 2pm to 4pm on Tuesdays and
Thursdays at the Belle Vue Community Centre, Kendal Road, Hartlepool. For further details please
contact Andy Gray on 07585 706889.
Emergency Debt Advice: Hartlepool Credit Union are able to provide First Stage Debt advice & will
support clients by negotiating with their creditors on their behalf to request a four week reprieve in
any action taken to recover any debts whilst the client waits for a Debt Management appointment
with a specialist adviser via the HAPEN Advice Network. To book an appointment with the Credit
Union for this service call the HAPEN Appointments line on 01429 271294.
We have also launched our website, www.hapen.co.uk, which is
kept up to date with the progress of the network. In addition
there were also two other key areas of work which have been to
establish a central telephone line and appointments booking
system which can be accessed by telephoning 01429 271294 and
an Online Referral System (ORS) which is being used by member
organisations enabling them to easily and quickly refer their
clients to sources of help and support to meet need.
Dawn Clennett
HAPEN Project Co-ordinator
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FUTURE PLANS – 2014 /2015
Our main focus this year will be to secure the Macmillan Advice Service and continue delivering this
much needed and valuable service to the residents of Hartlepool.
We will continue to execute our funding strategy and look to secure the long term sustainability of
all of our advice services through both grant making organisations and contracting arrangements.
We see the HAPEN project as being key to the sustainability of advice services throughout Hartlepool
and will use this as an opportunity to develop new collaborations and working arrangements. Using
the freelance/spot purchase budget to pilot advice services to meet our clients’ needs.
We will continue to develop the income generation opportunities afforded to us by having a very
attractive venue, with the capacity to offer room hire, conference facilities and training and
development opportunities.
PUBLIC AWARENESS - West View Advice & Resource Centre continues to work with key partners on
developing strategies to alleviate poverty and hardship to the residents of Hartlepool, and ensuring
that the residents are aware of how to access the help they need. In addition to deploying our own
marketing strategy through our involvement with the The HAPEN network, The Welfare Reform
Strategy Group and the Hartlepool Financial Inclusion Partnership, we fully exploit every opportunity
to get the message out to people that there is help available and we are currently working on a
strategy to help prepare our clients for the forthcoming Universal Credit introduction.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES - Carol Jones our Community Development worker, is working in
collaboration with Adult Education and WEA (Workers Education Association) to ensure a full range
of training and learning opportunities will be available to the public for the Autumn term.
Advice training: We have three planned sessions for our own advice workers and those of our
partners which will look at ‘Challenging PIP decisions, Tribunal Rules and Upper Tribunals’. These
will take place during the summer.
FUNDRAISING - In order to maximise our opportunities to secure funding, we will continue to work
with our partners and where appropriate apply jointly to secure existing work and develop new
projects.
SERVICE QUALITY - Quality of service is constantly under review and we have just undergone our
external audit, which I am pleased to report re-awarded our accreditation, for Housing, Welfare
Benefits, and Debt and for us a new area of advice, Employment. We continue to hold monthly
Audit meetings will continue to ensure maintenance of the Advice Services Quality Mark our next
external audit is expected in 2016.
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS
West View Advice & Resource Centre is a charity and relies on funding to make a difference to the
lives of individuals, families and communities.
We thank the following for their support during 2013/14
Hartlepool Borough Council, Housing Hartlepool, Macmillan Cancer Support, PCT, The Big Lottery
Advice Service Transition Fund, Greggs Foundation, Advice UK, National CAB & West View Project
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ORGANISATIONAL DETAILS.
FULL POSTAL ADDRESS
West View Advice and Resource Centre
The Community Centre, Miers Avenue
Hartlepool, TS24 9JQ
COMPANY NUMBER.
2994776
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER.
1084632
TELEPHONE NUMBER.
01429 271275
APPOINTMENTS LINE
01429 271294
FAX NUMBER.
01429 423007
E-MAIL
Reception@wvarc30.org.uk
WEBSITE ADDRESS
http://www.wvarc30.org.uk
BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Mr D Wise
Cllr C Simmons
Mrs J Shaw
Cllr S Griffin
Cllr R Cook
T Rogan
Chairperson
Treasurer
Director
Director
Director
Director
CENTRE MANAGER & SECRETARY
Mrs Valerie A Evens
STAFF MEMBERS DURING 2013/2014
Alison Thompson
Katherine Parker
Julie Boyd
Wendy Turner
Clair Gilbraith
Sabah Parrott
Martin Ventris
Sam Dunn
Pamela Harker
Jodie Hind
Abigail Thompson
Dawn Clennett
Rachel Ness
Jane Allison
Lou Gordon
Lindsay McGregor
Senior Macmillan Advice Worker
Senior Debt Advice Worker
Outreach Advice Worker
Debt Advice (Left Sept 13)
General Advice Worker
Debt/Benefits Advice Worker – Left February 14
Debt Advice Worker – Started March 14
General Advice Worker – Started March 14
Receptionist (Left Sept 13)
Senior Administrator
Data Input
HAPEN Project Co-Ordinator – Started Sept 13
HAPEN Administrator – Started Sept 13
HAPEN Administrator – Started Sept 13 – Left Feb 14
Cleaner
Volunteer Trainee Assistant Advice Worker
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Internal Audit April 2013– March 2014
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Client Satisfaction Survey Results
CS Analysis
Advice received 97.5% rated the service as excellent or very good
97% Confirmed that they understand the advice they received
99% of clients confirmed that they were made to feel comfortable and relaxed throughout
the interview
Overall rating of service received 99.5% excellent or Very Good
98.5% were satisfied with the days the service is currently available
Comments
Alison is a star. She makes you so at ease. Sorts everything out for me when my head is not in
a good place. Bless her.
I have a friend who has moved in. I am hoping things will improve.
Julie put me at ease.
Money is always a worry for anyone. What I’ve been told has given me a lift/confidence and
well-being.
Impact
51% reported Income likely to improve
60% Reported Improved Confidence
46% Lifestyle likely to improve
68% felt more able to cope
55 % Felt they would sleep better
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Produced In-house by V Evens April 2014
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