EAST HERTS CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICE

Registered charity 1083211 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BISHOP'S STORTFORD AND DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU LIMITED

The service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free information and advice, and by influencing policymakers. It provides practical advice help and guidance to members of the public through several locations in the East Herts area and helps individuals to be aware of their rights and responsibilities and the services available to them.

Objects

TO PROMOTE ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT BY THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, THE PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF HEALTH AND THE RELIEF OF POVERTY, SICKNESS AND DISTRESS IN PARTICULAR, BUT WITHOUT LIMITATION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY IN EAST HERTFORDSHIRE AND SURROUNDING AREAS”

Area of benefit: THE TOWN AND SURROUNDING AREA OF BISHOP'S STORTFORD

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity faced a critical funding situation at the start of the year, leading to a recruitment freeze, voluntary staff hour reductions, and the closure of Friday services. Although sufficient funding is secured for 2025/26, the trustees warn that continued efforts are required to maintain core services, as otherwise the charity risks reducing hours further and closure through using up its reserves.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Financial Conduct Authority. This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or by this site.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Citizens Advice East Herts (matched by registered charity number).

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~3.8 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (87% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 6.1% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (12/02/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Anthony John Murphychair
• Amy Cecile Iliev
• Ballu Sesay
• Barry Hunt
• JAMES HAMISH DOWSON LLB
• Jane Caroline Stewart Sartin · trustee of 1 other charity
• Natalie Edwards
• Rachael Williamson

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Hertfordshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with LEWES DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU.

• LEWES DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU income £521k
• Citizens Advice East Suffolk income £1.2m
• NORFOLK CITIZENS ADVICE income £1.9m
• CITIZENS ADVICE 1066 income £1.4m
• THE ESHER AND DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU income £272k
• CITIZENS ADVICE IN EAST DORSET AND PURBECK LTD income £1.3m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.