Aims

The Citizens Advice service provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. It values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination.

The service aims:

• To provide the advice people need for the problems they face
• To improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives

Principles

Independence

The service provided by Citizens Advice Cheshire West is completely independent.  Therefore, our service is able to offer impartial advice to all clients and to take up any issue with the appropriate authority on behalf of individuals or groups.

Impartiality

The service provided by Citizens Advice Cheshire West is impartial.  It is open to everybody, irrespective of ability, age, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and or social or economic status.  Advice and help will be given on any subject without any preconceived attitude on the part of the service you use.

This guidance must be seen in the context of the service’s other principles of free, independent and confidential advice, and its equality and diversity policies.

Appropriate action will be taken on behalf of the client regardless of how unpopular or unpalatable it may be with the community or of the office itself.  The provision of an impartial and objective service demands that Citizens Advice staff and volunteers must recognise their own prejudices and take action to control their feelings when dealing with a particular client.

Political impartiality

Citizens Advice Cheshire West requires that personal views do not impair the objectivity of the advice and assistance given, or restrict its availability or deter sections of the community from making use of the services of one of our offices, or deter funding authorities from helping Citizens Advice Cheshire West achieve its aim.

As a voluntary movement Citizens Advice Cheshire West draws strength from the diversity of its members (trustees, volunteers or paid staff).  Harnessing the differences into a creative force requires an impartial stance towards those differing ideologies which are held by both providers and consumers of the service.

Free

The services provided by Citizens Advice Cheshire West are free to clients at the point of delivery.  We are responsible for operating within the principles of the service and protecting the Citizens Advice brand.

Confidentiality

Citizens Advice Cheshire West offer confidentiality to enquirers.  Nothing learned by our service from enquirers, including the fact of their visit, will be passed on to anyone outside the service without their express permission.