Talks over future of a lifeline service
Council envisage more streamlined operation
Motherwell and Wishaw Citizens Advice Bureau are preparing for a second round of crunch talks with North Lanarkshire Council chiefs over future funding.
The move follows a meeting last week at the council headquarters in Motherwell, attended by representatives of nine advice and information groups, including Motherwell and Wishaw CAB, Council Leader Jim Logue and NLC’s Transformation Committee convener Councillor Andrew Spowart.
The meeting is set to take place at the end of this month.
Councillor Spowart said: “While the first meeting was amicable, there is no doubt it comes against serious discussions and decisions over future funding of advice and information services in the area.
“I cannot stress strongly enough that no decisions have been taken and it is my firm belief the levels of service to our residents can be maintained.
“However, there is equally no doubt in my mind of a need for change in the way advice and information is provided.
“For the council’s part we explained the need for change in the face of quite brutal financial cuts and the way in which we felt the services could be streamlined and duplication avoided.
“The council, for example, has already suggested amalgamating its Money Advice and Welfare Rights teams.
“The discussions with the groups were, I would say frank and fruitful and we’ll meet again at the end of the month for talks.”
Last month the Wishaw Press reported that the Wishaw office of the CAB could be forced to close its door due to the proposed 50 per cent cut in funding from the council.
The CAB estimates that for every £ 1 of funding provided by the council, Motherwell and Wishaw CAB has delivered financial gains of £62.58 and generated an additional £7 of funding.
The CAB have also claimed that the council are planning to remove their ability to provide independent money advice for our clients, despite the CAB dealing with nearly 1400 debt cases in the past 12 months compared to 874 cases dealt with by NLC’s Money Advice team.
CAB manager Kinga Kosakowska added: “Motherwell and Wishaw CAB consistently perform to the highest standards, achieving exceptional results for some of the most vulnerable members of our community year after year.
“Over the last year our expert advice put a total of £5.5 million back into the pockets of local people.”