Our Principles & Values

This service does not operate in a vacuum and we have always been acutely aware that the values and principles that underpin the service have a crucial impact on its effectiveness. Consequently, we have adopted the following principles and values, locally, to supplement the service principles mentioned above.

Equality & Diversity - CAB celebrates the diversity of the area’s people.  However, we recognise that the equality, which should be our birth right, is systematically eroded by structures, attitudes and actions.  People who are less powerful are often systematically excluded because of their membership of a particular group. Our work is governed by a wish to deliver services and act as an employer or educator in a way which remedies and compensates for the effects of exclusion and promotes the positive benefits of diversity.

Access - One effect of exclusion is to deny access to services to some people on the grounds of their membership of a particular group.  Our service will continue to seek ways  to extend access to as many people as possible.

Client centred services - implicit in the values and principles outlined above is the fact that our service is responsive to the needs of our clients and those needs are at the heart of whatever we do.

Quality - We will continue to offer our clients, paid staff and volunteers, and the public at large a total commitment to quality, which includes adherence to the broadest possible interpretation of these principles. All of our work and management processes will continue to be quality assured and externally validated.

Community - We recognise the need of every person to be included in one or more communities. Active participation in community life is not possible unless individuals are freed from the pre-occupation with practicalities that are associated with poverty.  Thus advice work, as a counter to poverty, has an essential part to play in creating inclusive and cohesive communities. 

Value for money - Our services will be designed to comply with the principles of Best Value.  This means that their cost will compare favourably with other services of similar quality and that they will be designed to meet a real need in an appropriate fashion. Our services will be costed to ensure sustainability and compliance with the other themes described here. Realistic support costs will always be included in project costs so that, as the organisation grows, it can be assured that the increased infrastructure costs are included in its income. 

 Learning - We are a learning organisation.  This involves a commitment to understanding ourselves as individuals, members of society or the bureau team.  We will invest in our people and value each other as individuals with skills, knowledge and potential. We will promote an environment in which support and co-operation is prized over competition or criticism but always recognise the value of a “critical friend”.

Educating - We will endeavour to share our learning through training and consultancy to outside individuals, organisations, partnerships and society as a whole.  Our work with clients will reflect this desire to educate and our aim is that involvement with the bureau will empower people to deal more effectively with their problem should it recur.  We will contribute to or stimulate local and national discussion on topics of which our work has given us experience and knowledge.  Our education and consultancy will be governed by our overriding principle of impartiality and independence.  We will challenge the views or activities of other service providers or policy makers to help them become more aware of the needs of our clients.

Partnership - We will contribute to the development of partnerships as the most effective way of countering the divisions which fuel social exclusion, and to influence policy makers and service providers to better meet the needs of people experiencing poverty, exclusion or injustice.By working in partnership we will put ourselves in a position to pass on feedback from members of the public about the work of other service providers.  In this role we will be a “critical friend” whose advice will be as challenging as it is valuable.