Moving from oil-fired heating to a more sustainable option(image courtesy of https://peninsulaheatingandcooling.com/)ContentsIntroductionWhy we changed overAbout the houseHow air source heating worksFinding out how to do itIssues we needed to fixGreen Homes Grant or Renewable Heat IncentiveGetting ready for the installThe installation planInstallation weekA new way of thinking about energyIntroductionWe moved to Dorset from Oxford in December 2020, and realised before we got […]
Stories by Neil Lawrence on MediumAlongside the pandemic, tackling the climate crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing society today — and the Budget could’ve gone much furtherThis week’s Budget 2021 was presented as a budget that ‘lays the foundations for a strong recovery and greener economy, levelling up the country and spreading prosperity across every part of the UK’.Alongside managing the […]
We are Citizens Advice - MediumDo Not Think About The EventA flat-out week with some highs, lows, triumphs and frustrationsTackling rugby(Honestly, I’m struggling with the section titles these days)One of the advantages of being part of the Placecube family is having others over to tea. Well, not exactly, but those lovely people from Rugby joined one of our Customer Platform sessions to […]
Stories by Neil Lawrence on MediumBack in the early days of social media evangelists like Clay Shirky would say how transformational it would all be. The emphasis was on the positive and it was a compelling picture. Of course, then came people like Donald Trump came along who turned rage into a money and power machine. To quote Shirky, we […]
Dan SleeAt Citizens Advice, we’ve been looking at the information heat network suppliers give people over the phone and on their websites. We found it’s difficult to get information about their services or the support offered to consumers in vulnerable circumstances.While upcoming heat network regulation should require suppliers to make changes and start providing the information […]
We are Citizens Advice - MediumIn years to come, our children will look back and be amazed that we weren’t talking about the pandemic morning, noon and night. Harold Nicolson’s diary of the Second World War is powerful because the backbench MP would note the day and think through what could come next. Samuel Pepys is more like it. There’s […]
Dan SleeBlast from the pasthttps://medium.com/media/bfc8828eeb0a4f5c95a2a0e00a7492d3/hrefThe second example was a more personal one. Getting people to shift their thinking to embrace more digital approaches can sometimes be a real challenge, and in my final months I’d been asked for some help on a policy-related subject. Nominally it had been about satisfying a Member decision to create an ‘interactive […]
Stories by Neil Lawrence on MediumEach phase of the pandemic has unwrapped new challenges. Now we have a vaccine, why aren’t people coming forward to take it? Polly Cziok talks about the groundbreaking work the London Borough of Hackney have been involved with to map their diverse communities, listen to them, create bespoke content for them and then refine it. […]
Dan SleeI find interesting things to read, bookmark them, save a chunk of text as a quote, and then occasionally copy and paste it all into a blog post, so you don’t have to. Digital Inclusion Toolkit: now live Leeds and Croydon Councils recently won central government funding to create a comprehensive and collaborative how-to guide […]
Dave BriggsHow the pandemic has affected the people we support — and how we continue to help them find a way forwardHere at Citizens Advice, we’ve been helping people find a way forward for over 80 years. But for the first time in our history, we now support more people over the phone than face-to-face. This means it’s important […]
We are Citizens Advice - MediumAs part of an occasional series, here’s a video of a conversation I had today with Kit Collingwood, Deputy Director for Digital and Customer Services at the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Kit shares some great insights and has some really interesting views on digital transformation in local government, so I really do recommend you watch […]
Dave BriggsFebruary is a short month, of course, but this one seems to have lasted for ages! Perhaps the impact of lockdown. The month started with snow, and we had a good amount here in south Lincolnshire, enough for Ruth and I to make a pretty good effort at a snowman. It’s interesting, I think, that […]
Dave Briggs30 January – 5 February This week has been tinged with sadness as we found out the son of one of our volunteers has passed away. I didn’t know him personally but at arms length it’s still so tragic and sad. Mix this news with Groundhog Day on the 2nd and Time to Talk Day […]
Karen Jeal23 January – 29 January This week has been busy both at work and at the school of mum. I’ve turned some focus at work to good news, positivity and human interest stories. I had a really good chat with a colleague about having had her two vaccines. It was really lovely to speak to […]
Karen Jeal