Provision of legal services - advice agencies

CAB is free	The Citizens Advice Bureau Service offers free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. From its origins in 1939 as an emergency service during World War II, it has evolved into a professional national agency.
5million clients per year	Five million people seek help from Citizens Advice Bureaux every year. The CAB helps solve problems, which are central to people's lives, including debt and consumer issues, benefits, housing, legal matters, employment, and immigration. Advisers can help fill out forms, write letters, negotiate with creditors and represent clients at court or tribunal. As well as giving advice, the CAB Service uses its bank of client evidence to find out where local and national services and policies should change. It has built a strong reputation for independent analysis.
Locally available	There are 2,000 CAB outlets in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each CAB is an independent charity, relying on funding from the local authority and from local business, charitable trusts and individual donations.
Mostly volunteers	There are now more than 30,000 people working in the Service. Ninety per cent are volunteers. They include CAB advisers, administrators and management committee members.
National body	Each bureau belongs to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB), which sets standards for advice, training, equal opportunities and accessibility. NACAB also co-ordinates national social policy, media, publicity and parliamentary work.
CAB is a charity	As a charity, the CAB Service relies on grants and donations to maintain its core activity and implement new projects. Government and local authority grants fund the core of its work.