Council backing for CAWB
Citizens Advice helped 316 clients with a variety of problems over last 12 months
THATCHAM councillors have continued their funding of Citizens Advice West Berkshire (CAWB) as the organisation is set to face more pressure.
The council paid £4,134.72 in 2020/21 as part of an agreement to provide outreach services in the town.
Councillors heard of the impact the services had had when they met to renew the agreement at a meeting last week.
CAWB chief executive Sue Mackie said: “We are really grateful for the support you give us to deliver outreaches – they are well-used, and because they are in GP surgeries I think it makes a lot of difference to people.
“They know when we are there and how we are there.”
Mrs Mackie said that CAWB had not delivered face-to-face sessions since the first lockdown and had switched to using telephone, email and letter.
Nevertheless, it helped more than 316 clients from Thatcham in 2020/21, dealing with 1,472 new issues – more than 21 per cent of the total issues dealt with last year.
“We do get a good uptake from the residents of Thatcham, either through outreach or now by our telephone,” Mrs Mackie said.
The top issues in Thatcham were benefits (39 per cent), employment (20 per cent), housing and relationship and family (both 13 per cent), debt (11 per cent), and other (four per cent).
Mrs Mackie said that employment issues were now rising as a lot of people were being made redundant.
Councillors heard examples of how CAWB had helped people in Thatcham.
One person made redundant was struggling to get the company to pay money.
After CAWB’s intervention they received everything that was owed.
Another person who moved to Thatcham following domestic abuse had all their benefits stopped and were in rent arrears.
CAWB helped them claim all the relevant benefits, furniture and white goods and helped them avoid eviction.
When asked how much unmet need CAWB was left with, Mrs Mackie said: “Unfortunately I can’t measure unmet need. The only answer I have is if we were open 24/7 we would never reach the need.”
CAWB’s main funding comes from
an agreement between the organisation, West Berkshire Council and Greenham Trust.
It costs about £250,000 to run the service.
In 2018 the district council cut the organisation’s funding from £120,000 to £80,000.
Asked about the current level of funding, Mrs Mackie said: “It would be nice to have slightly more funding.
“Looking at your grant, a cost of living uprise would be good.
“As you know, we had to shrink hugely and to be able to expand, we would need more money.
“We are now working at capacity at our offices and for the number of staff we have got because we had to make people redundant and we had a very close shave that time around.”
Saying that the town council should renew its funding agreement, Jeremy Cottham (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East) said: “I’m concerned that they have enough funding.
“It looks like they will have a lot more work and a lot more pressure.
“I think we should top it up another £500.
“I don’t think we can make a huge difference because we are a smaller player, but we can express our concern that it be better funded than it is.”
Richard Crumly (Con, Thatcham Central) said that the town council should stick to its arrangement.
He said: “There’s nothing to stop CAWB coming back for more money if they feel they desperately want it.
“That was not the message I got from the lady.
“She was not pitching for more funds – she was telling us, quite properly, what a splendid job they are doing.”
Disagreeing with Mr Crumly, Owen Jeffery (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) said: “I agree that we should not simply wait for them to come back and ask for more.
“I think we have been given a fairly clear message that they can’t even estimate what the need is.
“To propose a fairly modest increase I think is absolutely in order.
“I would be prepared to go up to something like £5,000.
“It will not dent our budget but could make a significant difference.”
Councillors agreed to pay £4,200 and to hold further discussions with CAWB.
A THATCHAM woman has been tasked with preserving ancient burial sites and priceless treasures as Thames Water’s new archaeologist.
Victoria Reeve will help ensure vital infrastructure projects at historically important sites across London and the Thames Valley are carried out sensitively and sympathetically.
She will also look after Thames Water’s heritage, from the 400year-old New River in Hertfordshire to the architecture of Victorian underground reservoirs and the intricately ornate ironwork of Crossness and Abbey Mills pumping stations in London.
Dr Reeve, who lives in Thatcham with her husband and two children, said: “The beauty of this region is that we’ve got everything: Stone Age, Iron Age, Roman history, you name it.
“In London you can’t stick a spade in the ground without finding something.
“Most of us would love to find a ‘Staffordshire Hoard’ of gold coins and jewellery, but it’s the simple connection with a person I find most fascinating, like a clay pipe that someone once smoked.”
Working with organisations
like Historic England and the Museum of London Archaeology, Dr Reeve will ensure Thames Water’s work to upgrade its water pipes and sewers doesn’t impact archaeologically important sites.
The company’s engineers regularly unearth fascinating finds, including more than two dozen 3,000-year-old human remains while protecting a rare chalk stream in Oxfordshire and one of the best-preserved Second World War air raid shelters.
And during the construction of Farmoor Reservoir in Oxford in the 1960s, evidence of human activity through the ages was found, including spear tips, axe heads and flints.
Dr Reeve said: “Right at the very start of a project we’ll look at where it is and use sources like archive records and old maps and photos to determine if there’s the potential to find something of interest.
“If there’s something there, we’ll bring in a team of archaeologists to excavate and record everything properly – or change the plans completely.
“It’s important we look after our history and do everything we can to preserve it because it’s a finite resource.
“By having someone at Thames Water who can oversee the whole process, we can ensure we’re doing it properly, and that our contractors share the same values.
“We also have so many amazing buildings in our own portfolio.
“Archaeology isn’t just about stuff that’s thousands of years old, it’s places like our spectacular Victorian pumping stations and underground reservoirs. We’ve got so much of a story to tell people.”
Thames Water conservation manager Henry Badman said: “Many people will be surprised to hear Thames Water has its own archaeologist, but we have an incredibly rich heritage and have been providing clean water and sanitation to London and the Thames Valley for over 400 years.
“I’m delighted Victoria has joined the team to help bring that legacy to life and make sure we meet our legal and moral obligations as the latest custodians of Thames Water’s history.”