21 Years in the Independent Advice Sector!

 

Advice NI is celebrating 21 years working in the independent advice sector. Looking back we have seen many changes: when I started in Advice NI 21 years ago we were a small network of around 15 advice centres (then called the Association of Independent Advice Centres - AIAC). We had two staff – myself and Kathleen Mulligan (still here!) and a one room office in Ballynafeigh Community Development Association – who gave us our start in life.

As far back as the mid-seventies there has always existed a lose network of organisations working in the independent advice field.

The independent welfare rights movement was essentially borne on the back of the demands and issues being addressed by the civil rights movement. In those days poor housing, poverty and social injustice were issues pretty much to the forefront of everyone’s agenda - particularly, but not exclusively visited upon the catholic community.

In the early seventies the Association of Local Advice Centres (ALAC) which had cross-community support came into existence. Its membership comprised local activists and sympathetic lawyers - out of this was to spring the first Law Centre in the North. In those days known as the Belfast Law Centre but now with a Northern Ireland wide remit.

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Throughout the seventies and into the mid 1980’s ALAC continued to forge alliances and campaign on many important issues and became instrumental in benefit take-up campaigns and in addressing chronic housing conditions.

Unfortunately ALAC’s funding was withdrawn and the Association folded. Just as we were starting to become more effective!

By the mid-eighties under the unrestrained monetarist policies of Margaret Thatcher the climate had changed considerably and groups and those who they represented came under increasing pressure. Major shifts in social welfare policy were occurring and in 1988 the Tories introduced a new social security act which dramatically transformed the arena in which social welfare and advice organisations operated - no-longer had we a rights based system of social security provision but one based on discretion - a new social fund which was a cash-limited and driven system of tightly targeted grants and repayable loans came into effect in 1988. Since then we have seen a raft of what has variously been described as draconian, punitive or down right vindictive legislative changes sold often on the rhetoric of targeting social need but effectively introducing a climate of persecution against marginalised groups as well as generally tightening people’s entitlement to benefits. Perhaps most pernicious of these was the Job Seekers Allowance, which reduced entitlement to statutory unemployment benefit from one year to six months.

From the demise of ALAC in 1985, until 1995 no network operated to give voice to the work of independent advice or welfare groups apart, that is, from the Law Centre. 

During the early 1990’s a number of groups attempted to establish a regional branch of the Federation of Independent Advice Centres a federation of groups operating in Scotland, England and Wales. However FIAC had no actual physical presence on the ground and relationship problems quickly developed - lack of accountability being the main obstacle.

A number of centres decided that the time was right to try and re-establish a network capable of representing and promoting the interests of the independent sector as a whole. Funding was sought and granted by the DHSS and European Union and AIAC held its inaugural meeting in March 1995.

A major research project was undertaken focussing on the needs and issues facing groups. A report ‘Independent Advice Giving’ was produced which highlighted a number of interesting findings. The recommendations which emerged from this formed the backbone of our current work and rationale.
 
Since 1995 our membership has grown substantially. We now have over 60 member organisations throughout the Northern Ireland who carry out work within the broad social welfare field - focusing on areas such as benefits, disability, housing, homelessness, debt, drugs, consumer rights etc.

In 2005 we transformed yet again into Advice NI (this mirrored the name change of our sister organisation Advice UK) and our growth and role continued to build and evolve to meet the changing needs of our membership. Today we have over 20 staff in various roles but all focused on meeting the increasingly complex needs of our network. Of course throughout this time we have witnessed various reforms and while a lot has changed over the years sadly some things haven’t and indeed it could be argued that some have gotten worse. For example far too high levels of poverty and disadvantage still exist and the life opportunities for many has remained much the same – we have roughly the same levels of unemployment and people reliant on benefits, highest levels of economic inactivity across the UK – indeed this has continued to grow. Strikingly, things have also got much worse in some areas for example; we had no foodbanks back then and personal debt was at a much lower level. Consumerism wasn’t as rampant or significant and the world of internet and social media was really only opening up and now is pervasive across much of society (although even in this area far too many people are remain left out of the digital revolution.) Most significantly in terms of advice services we have seen a distinct change to the types of clients we are seeing – 21 years ago I would have said that we were dealing almost exclusively with very vulnerable people but now our evidence suggests that clients come from a range of backgrounds and we also have a much larger immigrant population who need to be catered for and supported to access their rights.

One of the more depressing things is how each successive government seem to be determined to ‘reform welfare’ and we have seen many of these over the years (some better than others) but while systems and welfare get reformed, people are often left behind – and that’s why it’s so important to get welfare reform to work positively for people here in Northern Ireland.

In conclusion, I am very proud of all our achievements over the past 21 years and I think we have truly come of age and built a positive reputation as a ‘can do’ organisation. We have a Board and staff team to be proud of and a membership that has provided vital interventions to help people better their lives across all of past 21 years. Here’s to the next 21!

Bob Stronge