Introduction A lot has changed. For 80 years, since our foundation in 1939, our doors have been open across England and Wales for face-to-face advice. Each year, our advisers helped millions find a way forward with the problems they face in person. 81 years on, those doors closed. The Covid-19 pandemic struck and face-to-face advice, the main way people came to us for one-to-one support, was no longer an option. But we were still there to help. Almost overnight, our network of 265 local Citizens Advice—as well as our bi-national services, including the Witness Service, Pension Wise and Help to Claim—switched to giving advice over the phone, via email and webchat. In a relative blink of an eye, we shifted from providing 60% of our one-to-one advice in person to a fully remote provision. Our 7,700 advisers and 18,800 volunteers went above and beyond, going out of their way to make sure people could get the advice they needed. Setting up video calling facilities in local libraries for people without internet access at home. Partnering with homelessness charities and food banks. Securing regular slots to share advice on local radio. Simply continuing every day to answer calls, emails and webchats. Every local Citizens Advice has countless stories of incredible adaptability and resilience, always driven by a desire to help as many people as possible. And in this year in which everything changed, we were needed—more than ever before—to help people navigate the uncertainty. We also helped over 2.4 million people find a way forward with one-to-one advice. Our advisers responded to 6.5 million contacts to our service and supported 18 people a minute in the first A message from Warren Buckley, Chair Warren Buckley, 2019, photography by David Yeo. 4 Introduction