St Albans

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Help and advice for employers and employees.

National fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

Advicenow provides clear, step-by-step, user-friendly practical guides, and 'top picks' from the rest of the web, to help you manage life's legal problems.

Advicenow guides are easy-to-read and practical. They explain what you need to know, where you need to go, and what you need to do to solve your problem.

The country’s largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life.

Alzheimer’s Society

National and local Dementia Helplines.

Your policing questions answered.

British Banking Association leaflet

A guide to help you if you need to settle the banking affairs of someone who has died.

BACP is the professional association for members of the counselling professions in the UK. We exist for one simple reason - counselling changes lives.

Free, impartial and confidential debt advice to small businesses and the self-employed.

Grants for young people

Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. We put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting, and that decisions are made in their best interests.

ESA50

How care needs assessment works / do I have to pay for care services?

Help with utility bills. Charis support those who are struggling to pay their bills or have other essential needs.

Our calculator can give you an indication of the amount that you could expect to pay or receive.

Please click on the name of the Local CA you require below - you will be taken to each of their appropriate referral points.

Benefit referral

Update Feb 2017 CLS is no longer accepting new clients see here: http://www.communitylegal.co.uk/

ESA and PIP help and representation, by qualified lawyers.

Complaints about Citizens Advice service.

Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline

Children’s Legal Centre

Providing legal information and representation on all issues of the law relating to children and young people.

They provide specialist advice and information on child, family and education law to parents, carers and young people.

Contact your local Councillor or MP.

Crisis is a charity for single homeless people.

Internet Matters
A not-for-profit organisation that’s purpose is to help keep children safe in the digital world.

Support for families facing dementia

The Freephone 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge, is a national service for women experiencing domestic violence, their family, friends, colleagues and others calling on their behalf.

Advice on heating and hot water and grants for boiler replacement for those on a low income.

Benefits calculator

A charity offering a range of advice on pregnancy, pre-schooling problems, problems at school, bullying, general family issues and divorce and separation.

We were set up by Parliament to resolve individual complaints between financial businesses and their customers. We can look into problems involving most types of money matters - from payday loans to pensions, pet insurance to PPI. If we decide someone's been treated unfairly, we have legal powers to put things right.

Report, view, or discuss local problems (like graffiti, fly tipping, broken paving slabs, or street lighting)

FRU provides representation in employment and social security hearings. We only take cases from our referral agencies and cannot guarantee representation.

Note: Chelmsford CA is a referral agency.

Cease funding communications from Charities.

A member of the public can now visit the website and submit a request to cease communication from a specific charity or charities of their choice. More vulnerable members of the public, or for those without access to the internet, can call 0300 3033 517.

Visas and immigration

Find out what benefits you can get and where to go for money advice.

Abuse and domestic violence.

We'll make sure you get the help you need by directing you to specialist support services who can give you confidential and anonymous advice. We can also help you get:

• information about grants available
• food packs
• starter home packs
• small domestic appliances.

Women working to support women.

Contact HMRC for information about eligibility, claiming and stopping Child Benefit, changing your personal details and making a complaint.

Have your National Insurance number with you when you call.

A variety of factsheets produced by NHAS (National Homelessness Advisory Service), homelessness, eviction, disrepair etc. etc.

Provide information to members and others on domestic and European immigration, asylum and nationality law

Offering regular friendly contact and a strong campaigning voice, Independent Age can provide you and your family with clear, free and impartial advice on the issues that matter: care and support, money and benefits, health and mobility.
A charity founded over 150 years ago, we’re independent so you can be.

You can usually claim JSA online, but the online application service is temporarily unavailable. Claim by phone instead.

More and more people need our assistance to tackle injustices, that endanger their homes, livelihoods or loved ones. Law Centres can now only assist 1 in 3 people who contact us.

Find a solicitor.

A charity working in England and Wales to connect volunteer lawyers with people in need of legal advice, who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay and with the not-for-profit organisations that support them.

Simple, accessible, affordable justice for all.

A Law Society initiative.

Check if you can get it.

Civil and criminal legal aid and advice in England and Wales.

Find local authority by postcode.

Domestic abuse for men.

We specialise in helping couples build and sustain strong, fulfilling, healthy relationships, and in providing support in times of relationship difficulty.

Why? Because better relationships make for better lives, more stable families and a stronger society.

We’re ready to help, whatever your circumstances.

Through our free legal advice helpline, we assist parents and carers in tackling complex issues around employment rights and benefits for families. We give employers the tools and guidance they need to support their employees while creating a flexible, high-performing workforce. And we advocate on behalf of the UK’s 13 million working parents, influencing policy through campaigns informed by ground-breaking research.

Rights and entitlements during pregnancy, maternity leave and returning to work.

"Our vision is a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included"

For advice on a whole range of issues, social care, employment, housing, leisure, finances, personal support, support living services, wills and trusts and short breaks.

Handles claims against uninsured and untraced motorists and endeavours to settle them fairly and promptly.

Mental health charity

Free and impartial money advice, set up by the Government.

Loan sharks are illegal moneylenders who often charge very high interest rates. You can check if a company is authorised to lend money and report loan sharks anonymously.

Contact or find your MP or local Councillor.

Helping families in conflict, especially those divorcing or separating.

National Homelessness Advice Service - Not public facing.
Provides advice to housing professionals, voluntary agencies and local Citizens Advice.

Providing shelter and targeted support to people in need.

Lasting Power of Attorney
Forms and guidance

Housing related issues.

One Support provides a free service to people living within the community who may be struggling with housing related issues. Our aim is to help you maintain your tenancy, increase your life skills and to live more independently.

Helping families recover from the effects of drug and alcohol addiction.

Free Debt help.

A quick guide to Pension Credit entitlement, and links to an (anonymous) calculator.

General pension queries and complaints

Free and impartial government guidance to help you understand what you can do with your pension pot.

Charges to special numbers.

Benefit Calculator

Find postcode for an address or, a reverse search, find an address by postcode.

How to obtain probate leaflet

For temporary supply of equipment (walking aids / wheelchairs) – generally for 4 – 6 weeks then must return.

Red Cross Hardship fund (June 2020)

The Red Cross is administering a hardship fund which provides short term help for clients for up to a maximum of 3 months. After an initial misunderstanding over how to refer clients for help, we have now established that clients can contact the administrator, details provided by us, directly or with their consent we can pass their details on. Details of the fund are at https://hardshipfund.redcross.org.uk/

If you think this may be a suitable for a client, please see your supervisor.

Domestic abuse for women and children.

Supporting refugees

We’re the UK's largest provider of relationship support, and every year we help over a million people of all ages, backgrounds and sexual orientations to strengthen their relationships.

Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, personality disorders

Research Institute for Consumer Affairs

Consumer research focussing specifically on issues of concern to disabled and older consumers. RICA was founded through Consumers Association, publishers of Which? but is now an independent charity.

Supporting people with sight loss.

They have an outreach in the library on Thursdays and offer advice in welfare benefits, debt, immigration, housing, discrimination, employment, and family law.

They also have connections with a deaf solicitor if a case needs further legal advice and the matter requires legal proceedings to be instigated.

Support for the Armed Forces

Domestic Abuse.

Scope is a charity that exists to make this country a place where disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Soldiers, Sailors and Families Association, Armed Forces Charity.

Helping people overcome their debt problems.

To advise Homeless organisations (CHESS etc.) about someone sleeping rough so they can be offered support.

Support for County Court litigants.

Tax Aid

TaxAid advises only those people on low incomes whose problems cannot be resolved with HMRC, information online for others.

People on low incomes need their taxes to be as simple as possible. Our aim is to persuade politicians and HM Revenue & Customs to make the tax system easier and fairer for all while making tax and tax credit information available to those who are unable to afford professional advice.

A charity that helps people in financial hardship gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services.

Providing a range of dementia products, services and advice to improve the lives of those affected by dementia, Alzheimer’s and memory loss.

This site will help you understand what Universal Credit means for you. If you want to go straight to making a claim for Universal Credit visit gov.uk/universal-credit

Prisoners advice.

A charity for people with convictions by providing information, advice and support to overcome the stigma of their previous convictions.

St Martin’s-in-the-fields administers the above fund which makes grants to individuals in need. This is not limited to a geographic area and is intended for the whole community. There are no eligibility requirements on the basis of gender, age, origin, status, ethnic group, or faith. For clients in need of financial help – for example in a crisis, or to help set up home when they have previously been homeless.

For people affected by crime or traumatic events to get the support they need and the respect they deserve.

This page gives you an idea of the kind of information it’s useful to bring with you. If you haven’t got everything that’s shown, don’t worry – bring as much as you can find.

Through our free legal advice helpline, we assist parents and carers in tackling complex issues around employment rights and benefits for families. We give employers the tools and guidance they need to support their employees while creating a flexible, high-performing workforce. And we advocate on behalf of the UK’s 13 million working parents, influencing policy through campaigns informed by ground-breaking research.