citizens advice birmingham
Citizens Advice Birmingham is an FCA-authorized, 85-year-old independent charity delivering free, confidential advice on benefits, debt, housing, employment, and related issues to roughly 20,000 Birmingham residents annually via telephone, online, and embedded services in GP surgeries, hospitals, courts, and prisons.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1939
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What citizens advice birmingham does
Citizens Advice Birmingham is an independent local charity (registered charity number 519639; FCA FRN 617509) that has operated since 1939 as part of the national Citizens Advice service network, delivering free, confidential, independent and impartial advice to approximately 20,000 people per year living or working in the Birmingham area. Its service portfolio covers benefits, debt, housing, employment, consumer issues, immigration, family and relationships, and health and disability, delivered through a telephone advice line (0808 278 7990), online advice via citizensadvice.org.uk, and face-to-face appointments at multiple locations including GP surgeries, hospitals, Birmingham County Court, and HMP Birmingham. Specialized services include Macmillan Benefits Advice for cancer patients, Mortgage Repossession Service in court, Help to Claim for Universal Credit, the Wellbeing Advice Project in GP practices, and the WMSTN Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Network Advice Service.
The underlying technology is the standard Citizens Advice case management system used jointly across the network for secure client record-keeping and case management; no proprietary technology, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The organization relies on over 600 volunteer hours per week, with volunteers representing 75% of the workforce, supported by paid staff under an interim Chief Executive and a Board of Trustees led by Chair Liam Brooker.
Revenue is generated through charitable funding and grants from institutional partners including Birmingham City Council, the Department for Work & Pensions, Money & Pensions Service, Macmillan Cancer Support, Community Law Partnership, Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, and Henry Smith Charity, supplemented by individual donations, corporate partnerships, community events, payroll giving, and grant-making trusts. All advice is provided at no cost to clients. The go-to-market combines community-led outreach (embedded services in healthcare, courts, and prisons) with direct-to-consumer channels (telephone, online, and self-referral).
citizens advice birmingham firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- citizens advice birmingham
- Legal name
- Citizens Advice Birmingham
- Website
- https://bcabs.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1939
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Citizens Advice Birmingham is an FCA-authorized, 85-year-old independent charity delivering free, confidential advice on benefits, debt, housing, employment, and related issues to roughly 20,000 Birmingham residents annually via telephone, online, and embedded services in GP surgeries, hospitals, courts, and prisons.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
citizens advice birmingham industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social welfare advice services
- NAICS
- Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)
Keywords
Where citizens advice birmingham is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
citizens advice birmingham business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable funding and grants: As an independent local Birmingham charity, Citizens Advice Birmingham relies on funding from partners including Birmingham City Council, Department for Work & Pensions, Money & Pensions Service, Macmillan Cancer Support, Community Law Partnership, Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, and Henry Smith Charity. Trust funding enables running of key projects such as the money advice project at HMP Birmingham.
- Donations and fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals, corporate supporters, community events, and grant-making trusts. Fundraising activities include individual donations, corporate partnerships (Charity of the Year), community events, and payroll giving.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
citizens advice birmingham product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Citizens Advice Birmingham is a registered charity providing free, confidential, independent, and impartial advice to people living or working in Birmingham on benefits, debt, housing, employment, consumer issues, immigration, health and disability, and family matters. Services are delivered via telephone helplines, online webchat, face-to-face appointments, and through embedded advisor roles in GP surgeries, hospitals, courts, and prisons, with specialized programmes for cancer patients, prisoners, and people affected by Sickle Cell or Thalassaemia.
Product overview
Citizens Advice Birmingham is a charitable organization providing free, confidential, independent, and impartial advice services to residents in the Birmingham area. The organization offers a range of advice services organized around specific client needs: core generalist advice covering benefits, debt, consumer issues, employment, housing, immigration, and health/disability matters. These are delivered through telephone helplines, webchat, and outreach at GP practices and hospitals. Specialized services target specific vulnerable groups including cancer patients (Macmillan Cancer Support Services), prisoners (Money Advice at HMP Birmingham), and those affected by Sickle Cell or Thalassaemia (WMSTN Advice Service). The Help to Claim service specifically supports Universal Credit applications, while the Mortgage Repossession Service provides court representation. The organization also campaigns on policy issues affecting clients and relies heavily on over 600 hours per week of volunteer contributions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Help to Claim: A dedicated service from Citizens Advice helping people apply for Universal Credit
- Wellbeing Advice Project
- Macmillan Benefits Advice Service
- West Midlands Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Network (WMSTN) Advice Service
Products and services
- Benefits Advice Service
- Debt Advice Service
- Consumer Advice Service
- Employment Advice Service
- Wellbeing Advice Project
- Macmillan Cancer Support Services
- Help to Claim (Universal Credit)
- Mortgage Repossession Service
- West Midlands Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Network (WMSTN) Advice Service
- Benefits Appeals Tribunals Support
- Money Advice at HMP Birmingham
- Cancer Support Project
- Research & Campaigns (Policy Advocacy)
Quantifiable outcome
- 86% of families facing court proceedings for repossession in 2022-23 remained in their homes
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use citizens advice birmingham
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
citizens advice birmingham technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
citizens advice birmingham partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Birmingham City CouncilcoreKey local government funder and partner providing core funding to enable Citizens Advice Birmingham to offer services to clients in the Birmingham area.
- Department for Work & PensionscoreNational government department providing funding and partnership for welfare benefits advice services including Universal Credit Help to Claim.
- Money & Pensions ServicecoreNational body providing funding for debt advice and money management services to help people resolve their debt problems.
- Macmillan Cancer SupportcorePartnership providing dedicated Cancer Support Project with tailored advice and support for cancer patients, including those whose condition is terminal, run in hospitals.
- Community Law PartnershipsupportingPartner organization providing specialist legal advice services complementing Citizens Advice Birmingham's generalist advice.
- Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care SystemsupportingHealthcare partnership supporting the delivery of advice services within the healthcare system, particularly through the Wellbeing Advice Project in GP surgeries.
- Henry Smith CharitysupportingGrant-making charity providing funding to support core operations and specific projects including the money advice project at HMP Birmingham.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
citizens advice birmingham competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Citizens Advice (national): The national umbrella body of the Citizens Advice network, of which Citizens Advice Birmingham is a member. Sets standards, training, and branding across all local bureaux; directly comparable mission and service portfolio at a national scale.
- Law Centres Network: Federation of local law centres delivering free legal advice and representation, including welfare benefits and housing. Comparable on legal aid / tribunal support and overlaps on housing and benefits work.
- Shelter: National housing and homelessness charity providing specialist housing advice and legal representation. Overlaps directly with Citizens Advice Birmingham's housing, repossession, and homelessness-related advice lines.
Direct peers
- Money Advice Trust: Operates the National Debtline and delivers money advice training and services. A core funder/partnership counterpart to Citizens Advice Birmingham's debt and money management work.
- Community Law Partnership: Birmingham-based specialist legal advice provider that already partners with Citizens Advice Birmingham for legal support. Highly comparable niche and geographic footprint, serving overlapping vulnerable populations.
- StepChange Debt Charity: UK's largest specialist debt advice charity, delivering free debt advice via phone and online. Directly comparable to Citizens Advice Birmingham's Debt Advice Service in terms of client base, delivery model, and FCA-regulated debt counselling.
- POhWER: National advocacy and advice charity providing independent advocacy, including in benefits appeals and health/social care contexts. Comparable advocacy and tribunal-support services delivered to similar vulnerable populations.
- Citizens Advice Manchester: Another large urban local Citizens Advice bureau operating under the same national brand and service model. Provides the closest structural comparison to Citizens Advice Birmingham in terms of client volume, funding mix, and service mix.
Regional players
- Age UK Birmingham: Regional charity providing advice, information, and support to older people in Birmingham. Comparable regional advice model with overlapping benefits, debt, and housing support services targeted at a specific demographic.
- Birmingham Settlement: Long-standing Birmingham community charity delivering a range of advice, wellbeing, and community services. Comparable local footprint, community-embedded service model, and overlapping client base in Birmingham.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
citizens advice birmingham social profiles
Digital presencecitizens advice birmingham compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
citizens advice birmingham financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
citizens advice birmingham leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
citizens advice birmingham funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
citizens advice birmingham M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about citizens advice birmingham
What does citizens advice birmingham do?
Citizens Advice Birmingham is a registered charity providing free, confidential, independent, and impartial advice to people living or working in Birmingham on benefits, debt, housing, employment, consumer issues, immigration, health and disability, and family matters. Services are delivered via telephone helplines, online webchat, face-to-face appointments, and through embedded advisor roles in GP surgeries, hospitals, courts, and prisons, with specialized programmes for cancer patients, prisoners, and people affected by Sickle Cell or Thalassaemia.
Is citizens advice birmingham a public or private company?
citizens advice birmingham is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was citizens advice birmingham founded?
citizens advice birmingham was founded in 1939.
Where is citizens advice birmingham based?
citizens advice birmingham is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does citizens advice birmingham make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Charitable funding and grants are the primary driver. The others are donations and fundraising.
Who are citizens advice birmingham's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Citizens Advice (national), Law Centres Network and Shelter. Direct peers are Money Advice Trust, Community Law Partnership, StepChange Debt Charity, POhWER and Citizens Advice Manchester. Regional players are Age UK Birmingham and Birmingham Settlement.
Does citizens advice birmingham have an API?
No public API is recorded for citizens advice birmingham.
What industry is citizens advice birmingham in?
citizens advice birmingham's product category is Social welfare advice services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAM, Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services, with a secondary code of BPAGAFAA, Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy. Its NAICS code is 6241 and its SIC code is 8300.