Our Partners
Since our service began back in 1972, Citizens Advice Milton Keynes has developed many enduring and important partnerships with both voluntary and public sector organisations.
Our collaboration with other charities and agencies in the area has ensured that we can go on delivering essential services to meet the needs of those in our community who are most at risk of experiencing poverty, disadvantage and ill health.
Milton Keynes Council
We work closely with the Revenue & Benefits team and Adult Social Care to support residents of Milton Keynes, providing independent Debt, Budgeting and Benefits advice as well as help with enhancing their digital skills and encouraging the use of on-line tools and services. The council continues to support our work with vulnerable adults and funds us to deliver outreach services in the community.
Department of Work and Pensions
We are situated in close proximity to Milton Keynes Job Centre Plus and we have a close working relationship with DWP staff. Under the Help to Claim service, Job Centre staff are able to signpost or refer new claimants of Universal Credit to our service for help and support.
National Lottery Community Fund
Funding from the NLCF has enabled us to join forces with our partners at Works for Us to deliver the Integrated Advice and Support Partnership – ISAP. This 3-year project launched in October 2019 and is designed to support local people who are in low income or unstable employment to progress into more sustainable jobs. Our project caseworkers can help people to navigate their way through changes to benefits and help them to become more financially resilient.
Macmillan Cancer Care
We are proud of our strong links to health services. For over 10 years we’ve been working in partnership with Macmillan to support people living with cancer and their families to resolve a range of practical and financial problems that often occur when someone is receiving treatment for a serious illness.
We have huge respect for our colleagues at Macmillan, who generously fund the service, and work with us to provide the best possible help for people during exceptionally challenging circumstances.
Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)
Funding from MaPS ensures that we can provide specialised and detailed debt advice casework to thousands of local people every year, including support for people who wish to become insolvent through measures such as a Debt Relief Order or Bankruptcy.
Citizens Advice Milton Keynes debt advice is authorised, regulated and approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 617670).
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner
Our Community Mediation Service accepts referrals made by any of the Neighbourhood Policing Teams across Milton Keynes. The Commissioner has generously funded both our mediation service, through grants from the Police Property Act Fund, and helped us to advice and support victims of Cyber Crime through an initiative set up under the Community Safety Fund.
Parish and Town Councils
We continue to be very proud of the established partnerships with local Parish and Town councils, and we are working with more of them than ever before to provide localised services that reach some of the most vulnerable and isolated people across the borough.
GP Surgeries
Since 2017, we have been working with colleagues in primary care at 3 local GP surgeries across the city. Patients at the participating centres below can access our ‘Advice on Prescription’ project, delivered direct from their doctor’s surgery.
- Whaddon Medical Centre
- Hilltops Medical Centre
- Water Eaton Medical Centre
Local Solicitors
Many local organisations give their time free of charge to help us support local people.
We work with half a dozen local solicitor’s firms to provide over 350 hours of ‘pro bono’ legal advice every year.
The solicitors involved in our free clinics do not receive a payment from us or a formal endorsement. If, after attending one of our clinics, you wish to instruct a solicitor to undertake further work for you then you will need to discuss fees and charges with them separately.
Social Housing Providers
From time to time we receive small grants from various social housing providers to support their tenants. In recent years we have been pleased to receive some funding from Clarion, Paradigm, Grand Union and Hastoe Housing Associations to support initiatives that help residents to improve financial literacy or resolve complex neighbourhood and community disputes.
