COLUMN - Citizens Advice Wyre Forest - How you can help influence the Budget

EVERY year, the Chancellor’s budget sets out the Government’s spending plans and tax decisions.

These choices affect us all, from the cost of living and benefits, to housing, energy bills and support for local services.

At Citizens Advice Wyre Forest, we see first-hand how national decisions play out in people’s lives.

Whether it’s someone struggling to heat their home, concerns about rent or managing debt, the stories we hear highlight the real impact of policy on local people.

That gives us a powerful role ‘to make sure the voices of our community are heard by decision makers’.

How Citizens Advice can influence the Budget

---

---

• Gathering evidence – Every client’s experience helps build a picture of what’s happening in Wyre Forest. By recording and analysing case data, we show the issues people face most often.
• Sharing stories – Personal stories have real power. With a client’s consent, we can share anonymised case studies that show the human impact of policies, making the case for change clearer and stronger.
• Engaging locally – We work with our local elected members and community partners to make sure they understand the pressures facing people here. We provide regular updates, reports and briefings, to influence their priorities and therefore influence government decisions.
• National influence – Citizens Advice uses evidence from across England and Wales to lobby ministers and departments directly. By feeding in local data, Wyre Forest contributes to this bigger picture, ensuring the concerns of our community are represented at the highest level.

Why it matters

By using what we learn every day in our advice sessions, we can highlight where support is working and where it falls short.

Our role is to make sure decision makers do not just hear from big organisations, but also from ordinary people in Wyre Forest.

Together, we can help shape policies that are fairer, more supportive and better meet the needs of the communities we serve.

If you have any concerns about issues important to you please contact us by calling 0808 278 7891, via our website at wyreforestcab.org.uk/ or by emailing [email protected] to let us know.