News Articles

Hourglass (Safer Ageing), is Northern Irelands only charity dedicated to calling time on the harm, abuse & exploitation of older people. We deal with the very worst elements of physical, sexual, financial/economic, psychological, domestic abuse and neglect and we stand alone in this field, offering life-changing support to victims, their families and wider communities.

Advice NI would like to welcome ME Support NI to the advice network. M.E Support NI is run by Volunteers with direct experience of how M.E affects people’s lives. They provide information, support and practical advice for people (including children), families and carers affected by M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) and advocates on their behalf.

Implementing quality processes to ensure your organisation can met the Northern Ireland Advice Quality Standard (NIAQS) can be overwhelming as well as time consuming.

It has been another extremely busy year for Advice NI’s Quality team. In the current Covid climate, the Quality team has had to quickly adapt and develop an effective approach to a number of aspects of quality.
 

Triage is often the first point of contact into an organisation. It aims to improve access to services by effectively managing demand whilst also meeting clients’ needs and expectations.  

The Peer Review process is when an adviser’s work is quality assessed by either one or a group of advisers, of similar competence and skills.  

In November 2017, the Northern Ireland Bankruptcy Legislation change and one of these changes meant that a creditor cannot apply to petition a client for personal bankruptcy if the debt is under £5k.

The Open Banking initiative commences on 13th January 2018 and was created by the Competition and Marketing Authority, who identified many customers are paying more than they should for their banking activities.
 

My monthly goals are set for the New Year before Big Ben chimes on New Year’s Eve.  Typically, I set small achievable goals for different areas in my life, so I see small results and I don’t fail by first week in February.  I still like you, assist clients set goals with budgets every day

Michael Lyttle explains how the impact of recession, welfare reform, spending cuts and unemployment is severely effecting the already disadvantaged members of society that we serve. Michael explains some superb Apex initiatives. 

Financial Capability refers to our ability to manage money well day to day, prepare for and manage life events, and deal with financial difficulties. It also focuses on our financial skills and knowledge as well as our attitudes and motivation.

Sometimes useful and sometimes harmful for individuals with short term cash flow issues...... overdrafts explained in a little detail.