A CRISIS survival guide is being created for volunteers at the Citizens Advice Bureau in the Borders to help them understand new benefit sanctions.

It follows concerns that they are not being explained properly to jobseekers and don’t help them find employment.

At their Annual General Meeting in Old Gala House last week, the Central Borders Citizens Advice Bureau heard one jobseeker had his money stopped because he missed an appointment with the job centre to attend a job interview.

Manager Kathryn Peden said: “We’re making a crisis survival guide, it’s primarily for advisers to use. But there are inserts for our cleints because I don’t think they are aware of what a sanction is, what the implications are and what they do about it.

“It also has a part in it to tell them what they can do to make sure they don’t get sanctioned, giving them some bnasic advice that they maybe haven’t been given by their job coach.” During the past year the Galashiels-based Bureau, which also offers fortnightly outreach sessions in Lauder and Stow, recorded 3796 contacts with clients and dealt with 7627 issues.

The biggest problem by far was debt (2619 problems), and issues with benefits and tax credits (2286 problems).

However, CAB also dealt with queries in relation to employment (588 problems), housing (482 problems) and relationship issues (280 problems).

The Central Borders Bureau, which also arranges food bank referrals, was forced to increase its opening hours from 23 to 29 hours a week to cope with demand.

Kathryn said: “I think a lot of people think we just deal with debt and benefits but we deal with anything.

“We have had people who have been at the brink, they are either threatening to commit suicide or they have attempted to commit suicide because they are in such despair and not eating for days because they’ve no money.

“You can suggest that CAB could organise a food parcel and pride gets in the way and then they burst into tears.

“It’s hard for our advisors because they just want to help people and we’re struggling at times to find a solution.” The CAB revealed its phone bill was expected to increase dramatically after the job centre began removing phones from its centres in the Borders.

One volunteer revealed a jobseeker was given a piece of paper with a number on it to call from another line - despite being deaf and mute.

And others have been forced to wait on hold for up to an hour.

Members revealed they feared the new benefit sanctions discriminated against those who are not computer literate and those with mental health difficulties, while it was noted those in rural areas can’t afford to travel to the job centre every day.

Rhiannon Sims, Policy Co-ordinator at Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “The main problem is sanctions don’t always help people get into work or help them find work.

“Our case studies show the quite frankly ridiculous situations people get sanctioned for.

“More and more we’re seeing people who have fallen through the net of the benefits system relying on charitable support to survive.

“The Bureau often helps people to claim for crisis grants and to know about food bank referrals and I think people really treat that as a lifelife.

“Without it I dread to think what kind of a position they would be in.” If you are experiencing any of the problems raised in this article and need free and confidential advice, contact the Central Borders Citizens Advice Bureau, at 111 High Street, Galashiels, TD1 1RZ by calling 01896 753889 or email: bureau@centralborderscab.casonline.org.uk