STRUGGLING families are around £4400 better off on average after seeking help from a vital advice charity.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has revealed that around one in five people who come to their bureaus for advice make a financial gain.

This includes welfare benefits and school uniform grants that help put cash back in people's pockets.

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Service users can also benefit from reducing debt payments with specialist advice from CAS as well as help with enforcing their rights.

The figure comes as part of a briefing published ahead of the local elections next month.

Clients who ask for support from CAS often need help with debt issues, housing and universal credit with many cases requiring more than one advisor.

For the last two weeks, the Glasgow Times has been supporting our readers with our Beat The Squeeze coverage, showing Glaswegians where they can get the cheapest petrol and shopping to beat the cost of living crisis. 

There are six Bureaus across Glasgow where readers can seek advice if they need it.

READ MORE: Places to get advice to help with rise in cost of living in Glasgow

Derek Mitchell, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “As the country faces the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, the Citizens Advice network is here to with free, impartial and confidential advice and information.

“CABs across the country are essential community services, delivering life-changing results for the people they help. The fact that the average gain for those who see a financial benefit from our advice is £4,400 is simply staggering.

“People are going to really struggle in the months ahead, and it’s important to understand that the challenges people face will be complex. While the soaring cost of energy is driving this crisis, costs are going up everywhere, and met with flat or falling incomes at the same time, people won’t just need help with one issue but will be dealing with multiple problems.

“That’s where CABs excel. They are a wraparound service and deal with the person’s full range of issues. They don’t just try and solve one problem and ignore the rest. People can get advice in a way that suits them best – be that in person, over the phone and online.

“Giving people that choice is vital, some people just want a phone number to ring or clear advice to read, but for vulnerable clients and complex cases there’s no substitute for face to face advice.

“These are all local charities, organised to best suit the needs of their local communities. The advice is free, confidential and impartial, and our advisers treat everyone with empathy and understanding. We don’t judge, we just help.”