CPAG trainers

All CPAG's trainers are working within the sector, some for CPAG and others as senior advisers and consultants. Many of them contribute regularly to leading publications and information resources for the sector, including our own highly regarded range of handbooks.

Barbara Alexander is a welfare rights adviser and freelance trainer currently working for a large welfare rights team. She has delivered welfare rights advice, representation and training for over 20 years with a number of organisations including CA, Refuge, Shelter and Gingerbread.

Sarah Batty has been working in welfare rights since 1995 when she became a Citizens Advice volunteer. She has since worked in local authorities, housing associations and voluntary organisations as a welfare rights adviser, trainer and manager. She has also been an MP caseworker. Sarah completed a Masters Degree in Social Policy in 2017 and is currently a team leader at Durham County Council. 

Morag Bisset is a freelance trainer. She is a welfare rights officer providing benefits advice and representation, having started at Citizens Advice in 2008 before moving to social housing in 2014. 

Liam Casey is a freelance welfare rights worker and trainer. He has worked with Citizens Advice, Pro Bono Community, One Parent Families Scotland and Z2K. He has delivered training for Benefits and Work and Benefits Training Company. He has a background in community arts and education and has worked for the WEA in Scotland. 

Harriet Chaplin is a welfare rights adviser on CPAG’s Food Bank Income Maximisation Service, which provides benefits advice and training to advisers supporting food banks. She is an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook and Personal Independence Payment: What You Need to Know. 

Barbara Donegan is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland and an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook.

Moira Escreet is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland, working on the Disabled Children and Families service, and is an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook . She worked in frontline advice services from 1993 until 2021, mostly in social housing, so has first-hand experience of many benefit changes over that time. 

Alison Gillies is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland. She is author of CPAG’s Children’s Handbook Scotland. She has worked in welfare rights since 1985.

Will Hadwen works as a benefits trainer and a locum adviser for charities including Citizens Advice. As a freelancer, Will also works on the CPAG in Scotland advice line and on CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.

Steve Johnson has been a welfare benefits trainer and advocate for many years and has over 30 years’ experience working as a professional adviser and manager within the Citizens Advice service. His current clients include CPAG, Citizens Advice outlets, local authority welfare rights and housing advisors, charities from the benevolent sector, housing associations, as well as solicitor pro bono units.

Henri Krishna is a welfare rights worker with CPAG in Scotland’s Advising Migrant Groups service. He is an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook and the Benefits for Migrants Handbook, and has worked in the advice and support sector in various capacities for over 25 years. 

James Liptrot is an experienced welfare rights adviser, manager, and trainer. He has worked in the advice sector for 18 years for organisations including Citizens Advice, Gingerbread, Mind, and The Royal College of Nursing. In addition to running a number of different training courses, he currently works as an Advice Supervisor at a busy London Citizens Advice office and oversees the benefits advice of a small group of caseworkers at a mental health charity.

Alison Lord is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland, working on the advisers’ advice line. She has been working in the advice sector since 1996, specialising in benefits for people with disabilities.

Paul McCormack has been in welfare rights for over 30 years, working with local authorities and in a community-based housing association. He has also worked as a social security policy officer with the Scottish Government. He is an experienced representative at the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal.  

Steven McAvoy has worked in welfare rights since 2006. He currently operates an advice service for one of Scotland's largest disability charities. He is a freelance trainer in welfare rights, with experience in the voluntary sector and local authorities and is a former director of Rights Advice Scotland. 

Dominic Milne has worked in welfare rights since 1996, currently as a trainer with CPAG and also with RNIB as a trainer and upper tribunal caseworker. He has previously worked with Disability Rights and extensively with Citizen’s Advice.

Dan Norris is the Head of Rights and Advice at CPAG. He has delivered welfare rights advice, representation and training for over 15 years, with a number of organisations including St Mungo’s Broadway, SHP and Thamesreach.

Simon Osborne is a welfare rights worker at CPAG. He is content consultant and an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook, editor of and contributor to the Welfare Rights Bulletin, author of Winning Your Benefit Appeal and contributor to Legal Action magazine.

Judith Paterson is Head of Advice and Rights at CPAG in Scotland. She is a contributor to the Welfare Benefits Handbook. She is a member of the Scottish Commission on Social Security, advising on social security legislation in Scotland. 

Steph Pike is an experienced welfare rights adviser and currently works for Harrow Law Centre. She is a freelance trainer in welfare benefits and is also the author of the 3rd edition of CPAG's Personal Independence Payment: What You Need To Know guide.

Owen Polley is a welfare rights adviser and the programme manager of CPAG’s Food Bank Income Maximisation Service, which provides benefits advice and training to advisers supporting food banks. He has worked in the advice and support sector for 17 years, working for several charities and a local authority. 

David Roberts worked as an adviser and solicitor undertaking cases in housing community care and welfare benefits law for about 20 years. He has taught public law in various universities and has worked as a part time tribunal judge for the last 11 years. He is an experienced trainer who likes to tailor courses to delegate's needs, and encourages learning by doing - through case studies and exercises.

Frances Ryan is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland, and an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook. She has been working in the advice sector since 2009, including for Shelter and a housing association.

Sam Scarlett is a Welfare Benefits Caseworker currently working in a specialist benefits role for the NHS. She is a freelance trainer with over 10 years of welfare benefits experience working for organisations including Citizens Advice, the Royal British Legion, Macmillan Cancer Support and Students’ Union Advice services.

Jon Shaw is a welfare rights worker at CPAG in Scotland, and an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook. He has worked in welfare rights since 2007.

Jo Silcox has over 35 years’ experience in welfare rights. She currently works for the Money Advice unit of a large County Council. Jo has many years’ experience of complex case work, representation at tribunals and training. She was the Social Security Caseworker at FRU for 7 years and was until recently working at Harrow Law Centre. In addition, she is a freelance trainer in welfare benefits.

Jessica Strode is a welfare rights worker and the judicial review project worker at CPAG. She provides advice and support to the advice sector on using judicial review in social security matters, authors the judicial review chapter of the Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook and contributes to the Welfare Rights Bulletin.

Carri Swann is a welfare rights worker at CPAG. She is an author of the Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook and of CPAG and Mind’s Mental Health and Benefits Handbook.

Angela Toal is a welfare rights worker with CPAG in Scotland, working on the Benefits for Students project, and is author of CPAG’s Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook. She was a peer reviewer for Scottish National Standards for SLAB from 2017-2021.

Kat Turner is a digital developer at CPAG in Scotland. As a certified trainer, she has created content and delivered training for both the education and charity sector for 20 years.

Gary Vaux has been involved in welfare rights work for many years and is currently head of an advice service in a large County Council. Gary is also a freelance author, trainer, policy adviser and trustee of a number of voluntary advice services.

Rebecca Walker has worked in welfare rights since 1993 including for various Citizens Advice Bureaux, Terrence Higgins Trust, Refugee Outreach and Advice Partnership and LASA. She is currently an advice worker with Sheffield Citizens Advice and Law Centre, and a freelance trainer and writer on welfare rights. For over ten years she has been an author of the Benefits for Migrants Handbook, the Welfare Benefits Handbook and, for twenty-five years, the Disability Rights Handbook.

Martin Williams is a welfare rights worker at CPAG. He is widely experienced in representing claimants at both levels within the tribunal system, having worked in the appeals team at Lasa from 2001 until 2008. He is currently an author of CPAG’s Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit: the legislation.

Mark Willis has worked in welfare rights since 1991 and is currently a welfare rights worker with CPAG in Scotland’s Advising Low-Income Families service. He is an author of the Welfare Benefits Handbook.