Cold with Wintery Showers

Bad weather contingency plans

When wintery showers fall on parts of Torfaen they can cause some travel chaos. Last Wednesday areas of Blaenavon and Garnsychan we not passable and there are likely to be more such days before winter is through. This inevitably leads to problems for staff and volunteers trying to get to work.

Please don't travel if it is not safe to do so. If it is safe, please make your way to your nearest bureau if it is not possible to get to your normal place of work, please leave a voice message on 01633 876121 option 3 to let us know if this is the case. Paid staff should also text Mal or Lynne so we can arrange cover, notify staff and clients, and alert the public via facebook and twitter.

Paid staff staff should also make provision to allow for work to be done at home when disruption is expected.

There are good links on this page for information about travel and gritting.

http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/TransportStreets/RoadsAndPavements/Roadsandhighways-gritting/Winter-Maintenance.aspx 

New starters

This week we welcome Matthew Chambers, Lesley Turner and Debra Lunt to the bureau. Welcome aboard we look forward to working with you

Admin - victim of its own success

Please bear with us this month as we have had an unprecedented migration of admin volunteers from our team. Five of our most prolific volunteers left us for better things recently and there is quite a hole behind them. Adam has taken a job with the Citizens Advice Consumer Advice call center, Sam has left to go full time in Brantano shoe shop. Helen left us for a new job with a Monmouthshire housing association, Hannah has been taken on by TVA as an administrator as well as her college work, and Matthew has been away to concentrate on job searches. We done to all of them for their respective successes, please try not to do it with such synchronicity in future!

Lisa is currently interviewing new volunteers and we hope to have reception cover fully up and running again soon.

The NEW way of making sure our advice is top notch.

TCAB is coming to the end of the first month of our new advice quality audit regime and we have already learnt a few things. Firstly, our advice is of high quality and has scored well so far giving us a GREEN light on our first monthly scoreboard. Secondly, we have been able to focus on how to improve. Over the next few weeks we will be holding briefings with advisers on the techniques of recognising a wider range of peripheral and consequential client issues once the presenting issues have been dealt with and making sure these are well referenced in the client notes. Please look out for these opportunities.

Benefit Sanctions

Radio 4 File on 4, this coming Tue 21st Jan at 8pm,will focus on benefit sanctions and asks if disabled people are being set up to fail. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04yk7h6

Bureau closure

The Bureau will next be closed for Easter on Good Friday 3^rd April, Easter Monday 6^th April and Tuesday 7^th April.

Feedback

I always welcome feedback from staff and volunteers, you can ring me up on 01633 876128 send me an email at mal.edgson@torfaencab.org.uk, write me a letter, comment on this blog, place your comment or suggestion in the comments box in the Cwmbran meeting room or come and see me.

This Blog is prepared for the staff and volunteers of Torfaen Citizens Advice Bureau