A PARTNERSHIP between Citizens Advice and Yorkshire Building Society has benefitted around 100 people in Alloa.

The scheme was launched in July 2023 with a Citizens Advice adviser in the town’s branch on the High Street one day a week.

Hour-long appointments are on offer to discuss a range of issues, including struggles with finances.

Jonny Miller, chief officer at Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “This year, we’ve seen many households reach out to us for support for a huge range of issues.

“That’s why our partnership with Yorkshire Building Society is so important in helping us to increase the support that we can offer to people in need in our local communities.”

The programme was originally started as a pilot scheme in only six branches across the UK in 2021.

Due to demand, the partnership has been rolled out to over 40 per cent of the society’s branches, with the Alloa office helping just shy of 100 people.

Issues addressed and advised on include welfare benefits, debt, housing and legal difficulties.

Susan Allan, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, added: “Our purpose is to provide real help with real life and that’s exactly what our partnership with Citizens Advice does.

“We are incredibly proud of the impact that this service has had on thousands of people across the UK in its first three years.

“Through this partnership, we’ve helped to make impartial and independent advice from Citizens Advice even more accessible in our communities and it has had a real impact on the lives of thousands of people up and down the UK.”

For more information on the partnership, visit ybs.co.uk/citizens-advice.