Bayram: Free advice is an essential local service
The public is largely ignorant of how to access independent advice organisations and only a quarter realise they are free, according to new research.
AdviceUK also reported that half of advice agencies have had to turn people away in the past year due to not having capacity.
Its headline from a survey of 3,014 people it commissioned from Focaldata was that, perhaps unsurprisingly, 88% agreed that everyone should be able to get free, independent advice when they have a problem.
There were widespread worries about misleading or incomplete advice online, while 75% of people said government spending on free advice was worthwhile in the long run.
However, awareness was a problem. A third of adults had heard of independent advice organisations but knew little else, while a further 26% knew that advice was free but did not know how to access it.
Perceptions of availability were also poor. Only one in four adults thought free, independent advice was widely available in their local area. Almost half (47%) believed it was available for some people, but not most.
Younger adults “appeared particularly uncertain about accessing support”, AdviceUK said.
“Barriers can arise before people even try to access advice,” said the report, The public mandate for free advice services [1].
“Among those who did not seek advice for at least one of the issues they were facing, 35% said they thought they could sort the problem out themselves, while 25% did not know where to go. “Embarrassment was also a barrier for 21%, and 12% believed they would not meet the eligibility criteria.”
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of adults dealt with at least one of 10 common problems in the last year, although there was a striking difference between Black (63%), Asian (49%) and White (35%) consumers.
This carried over into some areas of law: 31% of Black respondents experienced an employment-related problem in the last 12 months, compared with 13% of White respondents. Housing-related problems were reported by 27% of Black respondents, compared to 17% of Asian and 15% of White respondents. There were also regional variations.
The research found that people wanted a flexible advice service that could be delivered through a range of channels “but they have a strong preference for face-to-face advice when problems become more serious”.
This preference rose from 20% when they first became aware of a problem to 50% as it escalated.
Seven in 10 people have either used AI for personal advice or information or would consider doing so, but a similar proportion said they would trust advice from a free, independent adviser more than an AI tool.
A separate survey of AdviceUK members – to which 188 organisations across the UK replied – said increased demand was the most frequently cited driver of capacity pressure (identified by 76%), followed by reduced funding (46%) and staff absence or turnover (31%).
As a result, half (51%) of organisations had turned clients away during the previous 12 months because they did not have sufficient capacity, and 48% had to reduce services.
“Members described longer waiting times, restrictions on online enquiries, reductions in telephone or other opening hours and, in some cases, temporary service closures.”
More than a third (35%) had frozen or reduced salaries, 35% had cancelled planned recruitment and 30% had made staff redundant – 72% reported some level of unpaid overtime among staff.
The consumer polling highlighted the tangible difference of advice. Three-quarters of those who had received free and independent advice said it solved their problem, improved their situation or prevented it from getting worse, while 68% said it reduced stress, improved their wellbeing or increased their confidence.
Liz Bayram, chief executive of AdviceUK, said: “The public couldn’t be much clearer: people want free and independent advice available when they need it, and they understand that getting help early can stop problems becoming crises.
“Free and independent advice is prevention in practice. But there is a serious gap between what the public believes should be available and what advice services have the capacity to provide…
“If the government is serious about building a preventative state and helping people through the cost-of-living pressures they face, it should recognise free and independent advice as an essential local service and invest in the services and skilled workforce needed to make that promise real.”