News Articles

We welcome the announcement from Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey that the end date for bedroom tax mitigations has been removed.

Banks have been warned that it's "not fair" to automatically blame customers for money lost through a scam.Last year, customers transferred nearly £240m to fraudsters, only a quarter of which was refunded by financial firms.

Advice NI is delighted to be awarded accreditation against the Investors in People Standard, demonstrating our commitment to realising the potential of our people.

We are delighted to launch our latest training brochure which is packed with lots of new and exciting courses and training programmes. Advice NI offers formal and non-formal training for those working in the advice sector, community & voluntary sector, local authorities, legal & financial institutions who wish to develop their skillset.Our courses include nationally and locally accredited qualifications as well as continued professional development (CPD) training.We offer training in the following areas: 

• Advice and Guidance
• Legal Advice and Information
• Legal Advice Support
• Customer Service
• Business & Administration  
• Independent Advocacy
• Debt & Money Advice (Wiseradviser)
• Welfare Reform
• State Pension
• Child Maintenance
• Advising and Supporting Older People
• Age Awareness
• Case Recording (Advice Pro)
• Social Policy
• Dealing with Challenging Clients
• Lone Working
• Tendering & Procurement
• Trailing & Presentation Delivery
• Training Assessment & Quality Assurance (TAQA) 

We can also develop bespoke training to meet your organisational needs. Click below for a full copy of the Advice NI training brochure, which will outline all training programmes, costs, accreditation options, dates & booking procedures.Advice NI Training Brochure July – December 2015If you would like further information on any of our courses, fee’s or how to book contact a member of our training team on 028 9064 5919 or e-mail training@adviceni.net.

Advice NI, the independent advice charity, has identified serious systemic failures affecting Universal Credit claimants, in particular Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) claimants moving from ESA to Universal Credit (UC). 

It’s been a busy few months on the advice line. People concerned with the Welfare Mitigations Cliff Edge due at the end of March 2020. Something that could affect up to 35,000 households in Northern Ireland. See below for some recent cases from the Welfare Reform Team. 

It has been a busy year for us all in the advice sector with very little prospect of any easement in workload. Indeed, if some of the predictions regarding the impact of Brexit occur, then things are likely to get more difficult for many of our already hard-pressed families and communities.

Established in 2016, the Scamwise NI partnership now has over 30 members, each one sharing their own unique knowledge on how to protect the more vulnerable of our society.

We're offering free, half-day training sessions on Universal Credit for groups of 10 or more.

A client phoned the Independent Welfare Reform Helpline for advice on a PIP decision that was taking a long time. The client had migrated from DLA to PIP and in doing so had asked for a paper assessment.

Welfare Reform Mitigations on a Cliff Edge

Advice NI welcomes Mid Ulster Agewell who have recently joined our independent advice network.