Outcry as Glasgow council plans to shut much-needed CABS in deprived areas

CLOSURE-THREATENED Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) have not been offered any money to keep their support services going in some of the most deprived areas of Scotland, it has emerged.

Proposed local authority funding cuts, which would lead to the closure of five of Glasgow’s eight Citizens Advice Bureaux, will cost city residents millions of pounds and hit the most vulnerable hard, a charity has warned.

Details seen by The Herald reveal that council chiefs have not recommended any funding at all for four of the five city bureaux at risk.

The proposals would leave Glasgow’s east end with no CAB.

The network has existed for more than 80 years across the UK, with the first CAB in Scotland opening in Glasgow Central in 1939.

Data released by Citizens Advice Scotland shows that, since lockdown, in the space of five months, all eight city bureaux have helped provided 35,780 pieces of advice, helping 8,866 people, with a client financial gain of over £6.4 million.

The potential cuts from Glasgow City Council will close a number of bureaux across the city, including Glasgow Central, Bridgeton, Easterhouse, Parkhead and Castlemilk.

The funding proposals may also see the other CABS in the city facing cuts to its services including Glasgow North West, Drumchapel and Pollok.

The charity says this works out at an average financial gain per client in Glasgow of £727.

Citizens Advice in Glasgow is warning that the devastating impact of the cuts, which would come into force in October, would see “thousands of vulnerable people fall through the cracks”.

The problems have arisen because city council officers have not recommended requests for annual funding from the Glasgow Communities Fund.

For at-risk Bridgeton, Castlemilk, Easterhouse and Parkhead CABS it is suggested annual funding of between £145,128 and £328,000 a year for each centre is completely turned down.

All four are on a council list headed “applications not recommended”.

Within guidance notes, applicants were advised that decisions “would be final and that there would be no appeals process”.

On a separate list, it is suggested funding recommended for Drumchapel CAB should be cut by half of what was requested in 2021/22 – £138,797. It was a similar story for 2022/23.

Glasgow City Council will vote this Thursday on the proposals. A Change. org petition opposing the potential closures has gained nearly 4000 signatures.

Frank Mosson, manager of Bridgeton Citizens Advice Bureau said: “The saying goes that people make Glasgow, but these cuts would make Glasgow’s people worse off.

“CABS deliver exceptional results for the poorest and most vulnerable people in Glasgow, putting millions back into people’s pockets which are then spent in local communities.

“These proposals from Glasgow City Council would wipe out any advice provision in the east end of the city, in Castlemilk, and massively reduce provision elsewhere. For this to happen in the middle of a pandemic, as the furlough scheme winds down, would be absolutely devastating.”