About Citizens Advice Witness Service

Citizens Advice is a national charity that provides free-to-access information and advice to give people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward.

The Witness Service provides free, confidential practical and emotional support for witnesses attending trials and hearings in every criminal court in England and Wales. We’re delivered by Citizens Advice, and funded by a grant from the Ministry of Justice. Our 300 staff and 2,000 volunteers supported more than 87,000 witnesses in 2021/22.

Our trained volunteers provide practical help, emotional support and information to witnesses so that they feel valued, respected and informed and able to give their best evidence in court.

We're a national service that operates at a local level, with staff and volunteer teams working from every Crown and Magistrates court in England and Wales. In Gloucestershire, we operate from Gloucester Crown Court, Cheltenham Magistrates Court and Cirencester Nightingale Court, as well as a number of videolink hubs for people giving evidence remotely.