Last years performance
Our Impact in 2025 – 2026
7K+ People helped
Last year we helped over 7,400 people across the Ipswich area find a way forward with the problems they faced.
33K+ problems dealt with
Our advisers helped resolve over 33,450 issues for their clients.
£2.4 Million+ in positive financial outcomes
Our advice helped secure over £2,447,000 in positive financial outcomes for clients across Ipswich and the surrounding area, including increased income, reimbursements, and debts written off.
£380K+ Reduced debt
Our advice and action led to debt burdens for our clients being reduced by over £380,000
To find out how we achieved this, read our annual performance review which shows the impact of our advice across our projects over the last 12 months.
https://www.citizensadviceipswich.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Performance-Review-2026.pdf
Community Impact
Citizens Advice Ipswich has the knowledge, skills and experience to make an impact where clients experience greatest need: most significantly in terms of preventing homelessness, maximising benefits and managing debts, including priority debts such as council tax and rent arrears outcomes. This generates tangible savings for statutory services in terms of lower costs incurred in a range of areas including temporary accommodation, debt enforcement, social care support and primary health care. The charity strives to empower people to help them solve the problems they face and to help them own the solutions to them.
Social Prescribing
We continue to work with health colleagues to address the non medical issues patients present with that impact on their health and wellbeing. We have a team supporting keeping patients out of hospital working as part of the with the Reactive Emergency Assessment Community Team (REACT), The Connect for Health Team work across Ipswich East and West Integrated teams taking referrals from health care professionals and directly from individuals.
Combating Fuel Poverty
During 2025 to 2026 we worked to address fuel poverty through several different ways, all generalist advisers are being upskilled to be able to deliver basic energy saving advice. We have dedicated energy advisers (trained up NEA/City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Energy Awareness. We have been active in administering the Fuel Voucher Scheme which extends across Suffolk. Our energy specialist works in partnership with Cadent Energy undertaking casework with vulnerable clients needing support to reduce their outgoings and energy costs alongside increasing their income to be able to better heat their homes. The demands for income maximisation are high with the assistance of Health Inequalities funding we were able to increase the capacity of this team.
Digital Exclusion
Digital Exclusion continues to be an issue in Ipswich presenting a greater challenge for clients needing to access services that have to a greater or lesser extent moved to remote delivery. Continued funding from Suffolk County Council under the hardship fund enabled us to support clients accessing Local Welfare Assistance (LWAS) providing much needed financial support for many households. The increase in demands for face-to-face services has promoted a greater focus on gathering data to understand the extent to which our services are being sought due to digital exclusion.
Cost of Living
We have continued to support local charitable trusts as an agent in the administration of grants payable to individual clients. The grants have a range of different criteria that advisers consider in line with client circumstances. As a gateway to grants and support for many in need, we referred 754 clients to the local food bank and assisted 679 clients accessing a range of other essential grants.
Housing
We supported 1,126 clients presenting with 2,329 housing issue. Preventing 96 clients becoming homeless and supporting others with a range of different housing related problems.
Benefits
The National Lottery fund our specialist Welfare Benefits team. Advice on welfare benefits continued to be in high demand we approached in the past year, with many queries around eligibility for claiming benefits predominantly Personal Independence Payments (2,401 clients). The reduction in other town centre charities resulted in additional demand, a grant from Suffolk County Council to assist with capacity has been welcomed.
Money Advice
During 2025-26 the Money Advice team continued to support clients and have written off £387,875 worth of debt. The team supported 447 clients and undertook 226 different cases. Presented with £3,533,635 of arears with 2057 issues. The team undertook 19 Debt Relief Orders 1 bankruptcy and 4 write off requests. It has been a challenging year, with increasingly vulnerable clients presenting and needing a great deal of support to resolve their money issues and get cases through to a conclusion. The team saw a notable increase in rent arrears, both with private rented properties and social housing.
Income Maximisation and Energy Advice
There has been an increase in demands for Income Maximisation, driven by the impacts of the higher cost of living especially on working families on limited incomes. We have a specialist resource to review income and expenditure and seek areas to maximise household resources. The amazing team through the combined efforts of applying for welfare benefits, supporting charitable grants, reducing expenditure and maximising Income gained £1,637,315 for our clients that went back into the local economy.
To read more follow this link to our Annual Performance Report