You make it happen

Good morning,

It’s You Made It Happen day – a chance to thank you for your support for CPAG, and tell you about some of the ways you’ve helped in recent months. As CPAG’s Treasurer and a regular donor myself, it’s really important to me to know and share the impact CPAG has in helping children growing up in poverty today, thanks to you and all our supporters.

Advice

Last year, CPAG responded to 9,009 requests for advice, helping an estimated 36,000 people. CPAG’s expert service is the only nationwide helpline freely available by phone and email, five days a week, giving frontline workers and advisers practical help with the social security system so families can stay afloat. This helpline is funded by income that we raise including donations from our generous supporters.

Legal work

In July, CPAG won the award for best legal aid team at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. This award is a recognition of our highly-skilled legal work bringing test cases which establish and protect families’ rights. And it is a recognition of our clients – people affected by injustice – who stick with the case as it goes through the court system over the course of months and years.

Early Warning System

We’ve collected more than 5,000 stories from across the country of families’ experiences struggling with the social security system into our 'Early Warning System'. These case reports help us better understand how changes to the social security system, including the introduction of universal credit, are affecting people’s lives. These are stories of families struggling because they’re worse off or because the system hasn’t worked as it should. These cases give us a solid evidence base we can use to successfully push for change. This is only possible thanks to the cases reported to us by frontline workers around the country.

Campaigning for change

You’ve helped us put pressure on the government, and it has listened. Last year, the government announced some changes to universal credit that will make life easier for working families. The government increased the work allowances – the amount people can earn before their universal credit starts to be reduced – and this will have a big impact on struggling families. The change means up to £630 a year (just over £50 a month) in the pockets of these families. This change came as a result of significant pressure from us and our supporters.

We’ll soon be publishing our 2018/19 Annual Report on our website with more details of the work you have made possible.

Thank you for your money, time, cases – and all that you do to support CPAG!

Kind regards,

Alan Thackrey

CPAG Treasurer

Image from LALY awards: Robert Aberman