£300k council pledge is big boost for CABs
RESIDENTS looking for advice about finance and legal issues have received a boost after Cheshire East Council agreed a funding package a charitable helpline.
Cheshire East’s two Citizen Advice Bureaux (CABs) in the north and south of the borough have received a grant of £317,990 to split between them.
It offers free financial, legal and welfare advice to anyone who gets in touch.
Since April 2014, the CABs has dealt with 6,608 face-to-face enquiries, 1,879 telephone calls and 870 emails.
The most common issues residents contact the service about are benefits and tax credits, debt, employment, housing and personal relationships.
During the past year (2014/15), CAB staff have helped residents to claim £522,000 of benefit and tax credit to which they were entitled and supported them with debts totalling £1.7m.
The cash boost was agreed at a meeting of Cheshire East’s cabinet last month.
Councillor David Brown, cabinet member in charge of strategic communities, said: “The CAB service provides excellent advice and help to residents and it does it completely free of charge.
“This is critically important to some people and it helps to enable residents to become self-reliant and take personal responsibility for their quality of life.
“As a Residents First Council, I am pleased to say that we will be continuing to support people who rely on the work of the CAB.”
The CAB service provides advice on welfare, benefits, debt, housing and employment.
To find out more about the Macclesfield branch, on Sunderland Street, Macclesfield, or the service as a whole, visit its website at www. cecab-north.org.uk, or call 0844 411 1444.