CITIZENS ADVICE HALTON

What CITIZENS ADVICE HALTON does

Citizens Advice Halton (legal name: Halton Citizens Advice Bureau) is an independent charity and company limited by guarantee (company number 5346702; charity number 1118300) founded in 1939, providing free, confidential, impartial advice to residents of Halton in north-west England. It operates two walk-in offices in Runcorn (Orchard Walk, Runcorn Shopping City) and Widnes (Victoria Building, Lugsdale Road, the registered office), and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 617620) for financial advice services. The organisation delivers services across multiple channels — telephone (general advice, money advice, consumer helpline, Help to Claim), in-person walk-in, email/web enquiry, webchat, and a formal referral pathway for partner organisations — and is a registered third-party hate crime reporting centre.

The core product set comprises general advice, money/debt advice, consumer helpline, and Help to Claim (Universal Credit) services, complemented by three special projects: the GROW employment support programme for adults 18+ not in work, education or training; the Family Support Project for families with children 0-19, expectant parents, and kinship carers; and the Mind & Money Programme, a Liverpool City Region-wide financial resilience initiative delivered in partnership with The Women's Organisation and sister Citizens Advice offices. Underlying technology is essentially operational: the national Citizens Advice Casebook system for case management, Google services for email, web chat on the website, and telephone call recording for quality assurance. There is no proprietary software, no AI/ML capability, and no mobile app; the service is human-delivered and volunteer-augmented.

The business model is non-commercial: all services are free to end users, with income derived from government grants (e.g., £688,116 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for Mind & Money), charitable trust funding (e.g., The Henry Smith Charity), local authority grants (Halton Borough Council, though general advice funding has been discontinued), and public donations via GoFundMe. In 2023-24 the organisation reported helping over 8,000 people with 54,108 issues, generating £4.4 million of debt written off and £3.5 million of income gained for clients. Headcount is 11 employees supported by a broader volunteer base, with governance by a Board of Trustees (Chair Claire Pentin, Vice Chair Geoff Hawker, Treasurer John Doyle) and executive leadership by Chief Executive Hitesh N. Patel.

Name

CITIZENS ADVICE HALTON

Legal name

Halton Citizens Advice Bureau

Website

https://haltoncab.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citizens Advice Halton is an independent charity that provides free, confidential advice on benefits, debt, consumer, employment, and housing matters to residents of the Halton borough in north-west England, operating from walk-in offices in Runcorn and Widnes as part of the national Citizens Advice network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community advice and welfare services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Free advice services
• Debt management
• Benefits guidance
• Employment support
• Consumer helpline

Headquarters

HQ city

Widnes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Reliance on public donations through GoFundMe platform and other donation mechanisms. The organization states that services are free and they rely on support from people like you to ensure advice is available when needed.
2. Project Funding: Funding from government and charitable sources for specific programmes including Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for Mind & Money (£688,116 from UK Shared Prosperity Fund), The Henry Smith Charity and Halton Borough Council for Family Support Project.
3. UK Shared Prosperity Fund: The Mind & Money programme received £688,116 from UK Government through UK Shared Prosperity Fund with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as lead authority.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Citizens Advice Halton is an independent charity providing free, confidential, impartial and independent advice on a wide range of subjects including benefits, debt, consumer issues, employment, housing, and immigration. Services are delivered through walk-in centres in Runcorn and Widnes, telephone helplines, email, webchat and partner referrals, and are supplemented by specialized projects covering employment support (GROW), family support, and financial resilience (Mind & Money).

Product overview

Citizens Advice Halton operates as a unified advice service organization providing free, confidential, impartial and independent advice to residents of Halton. The core offering combines general advice, money advice, and consumer helpline services, supplemented by specialized projects including GROW (employment support), the Family Support Project (family assistance), and the Mind & Money Programme (financial resilience). Services are delivered through multiple channels including in-person walk-in centres, telephone helplines, email, and online referral forms. As a registered third party hate crime reporting centre, the organization also provides hate crime reporting support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GROW: Getting Ready for Opportunities and Work - a programme for people aged 18+ who are not in work, providing group and 1-2-1 support designed around personal progression goals including job search assistance, everyday maths, workplace language training, and community engagement.

Products and services

• General Advice Service Free, confidential, impartial and independent advice and information on a wide range of subjects (benefits, debt, consumer, employment, housing, immigration), delivered to Halton residents via telephone, in-person walk-in, and online channels.
• Money Advice Service Specialist debt management, financial capability, and income maximisation advice, including the Help to Claim service supporting clients through Universal Credit applications, available to Halton residents free of charge.
• Consumer Helpline Freephone consumer advice helpline (0808 223 1133) operating Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, providing guidance on consumer rights and disputes.
• Hate Crime Reporting Service Registered third-party hate crime reporting centre providing anonymous and confidential hate crime reporting with trained staff offering advice and onward support referrals.
• GROW - Getting Ready for Opportunities and Work Employment support programme for people aged 18+ who are not in work, education or training, providing group and one-to-one support with personal keyworkers covering job search, CV writing, workplace language, everyday maths, budgeting and community engagement.
• Family Support Project Targeted advice and advocacy service for Halton families with children aged 0-19, expectant parents, and kinship carers, providing support on benefits, debt, food and fuel vouchers, and advocacy with children's social care and other agencies.
• Mind & Money Programme Financial and personal resilience programme delivered across the Liverpool City Region, providing welfare, debt management, income maximisation, budgeting and personal confidence-building advice. Phase 1 helped 2,500+ people, managed £4m of debt and maximised £4m of income.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of people using services would recommend to a friend
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• The Women's OrganisationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Lead partner for Mind & Money programme, coordinating delivery across the Liverpool City Region including Citizens Advice offices in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral, as well as Vauxhall Law Centre and Pennysmart.
• Citizens Advice KnowsleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme serving Liverpool City Region residents with dedicated advice line 0808 278 7839
• Citizens Advice LiverpoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme serving Liverpool City Region residents with dedicated advice line 0808 278 7840
• Citizens Advice SeftoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme serving Liverpool City Region residents with dedicated advice line 0151 318 6407
• Citizens Advice St HelenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme serving Liverpool City Region residents with dedicated advice line 01744 737866
• Citizens Advice WirralcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme serving Liverpool City Region residents with dedicated advice line 0808 278 7848
• Vauxhall Law CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme with dedicated advice line 0151 360 7777
• PennysmartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivery partner for Mind & Money programme with dedicated advice line 03003 651210
• Greater Merseyside Money Advice PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed in projects and partnerships section, serving the Greater Merseyside area with money advice services.
• Money and Pensions ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in organizational logos as a partner, providing money guidance services.
• NHSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in organizational logos as a partner organization.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Citizens Advice: The national umbrella charity that Citizens Advice Halton is a member of. Provides brand standards, governance frameworks, and policy support to local offices; directly comparable as the same advice-service category at national scale.
• Money and Pensions Service: UK-wide body providing money guidance. Listed as a partner organization of Citizens Advice Halton and comparable as a money-advice infrastructure provider in the same category.
• StepChange Debt Charity: National specialist debt advice charity offering comparable FCA-regulated debt counselling and money advice services. Comparable in core money-advice function though operates nationally rather than within a single borough.

Direct peers

• Citizens Advice Sefton: Local Citizens Advice office covering Sefton. Operates as a delivery partner in the Mind & Money programme and provides the same free, FCA-regulated advice services to local residents.
• Citizens Advice St Helens: Local Citizens Advice office in St Helens. Comparable in service mix, scale and funding model, and a Mind & Money programme delivery partner.
• Citizens Advice Wirral: Local Citizens Advice office covering Wirral. Operates with the same FCA-regulated advice model and is a Mind & Money delivery partner alongside Citizens Advice Halton.
• Citizens Advice Knowsley: Sibling local Citizens Advice office covering Knowsley, UK. Delivers the same free advice service model and is a delivery partner on the same Mind & Money programme, making it a directly comparable peer.
• Citizens Advice Liverpool: Local Citizens Advice office serving Liverpool. A delivery partner in the Mind & Money programme and offers directly comparable general, money and consumer advice services under the same network.

Regional players

• The Women's Organisation: Liverpool-based economic empowerment charity that is the lead delivery partner for the Mind & Money programme. Comparable as a Liverpool City Region advice-and-support provider targeting similar demographics.

Emerging players

• Shelter: UK charity providing free housing advice and support. Comparable as a national specialist advice charity that overlaps with Citizens Advice Halton's housing-advice function.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/haltoncab
• Facebookfacebook.com/haltoncab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/halton-citizens-advice-bureau

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CITIZENS ADVICE HALTON