On the 3rd September 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany after Hitler refused to withdraw his troops from Poland. On that same day the Citizens Advice Bureau came into existence, primarily to help people understand and comply with new rules and regulations that are introduced at the start of World War II.

Today, as well as helping people with their queries about debt restructuring, employment legislation and consumer issues the CAB is a champion of people's rights and it collects evidence of recurring problems and campaigns for changes in the law where required.

The CAB has more than 20,000 trained volunteers working for it and it has expanded its duties over the years to keep pace with the public's demand for help and information on a wide range of subjects from matters as diverse as neighbour disputes to helping people find NHS dentists in their area.

This extract from the Directors Report for the year ended 31st March 2005 gives an idea of what the CAB is dealing with in the early years of the 21st Century:

The Citizens Advice service helps people to resolve their legal, money and other problems through information and advice and by influencing policymakers. Citizens Advice provides the support necessary to help sustain the Citizens Advice service and ensure that it continues to make a positive difference to communities. It is made up of 453 member bureaux in England and Wales (2004: 474) and 22 in Northern Ireland (2004: 22). The reduction in member bureaux is due to mergers between local bureaux in the same local authority area.

The Citizens Advice service was contacted about 5,259,000 new problems during 2004/05 (2004: 5,605,000). Through the grant in aid from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and donations from charitable trusts, companies and direct contracts with statutory bodies, the grant income for 2004/05 was £33,165,000 (2004: £40,198,000), the fall of just over £7 million less than 2003/04 mainly due to the scheduled end of the Citizens Connect Programme IT funding.

In the days before Internet accessibility everybody I know made at least one visit to the local CAB office, my query was to do with employment law but the majority as stated in the accounts originate from legal and money queries.

The number of new problems - more than 5 million - shows that even in an age where information is supposedly so freely available there is still the need for volunteer based organisations.

The future aims of the CAB are admirable as well:

The main objective for the whole Citizens Advice service is to create an integrated range of services that will strengthen access to advice by telephone, email and internet and focus the provision of face-to-face and dedicated services on those in greatest need. Citizens Advice will establish more effective referral systems with other advice agencies and focus on managing demand and improving efficiency within bureaux.

Campaigning for change in policies and services that are not working, is a cost effective way of improving the lives of individuals.

Here's to the next seventy seven years.