Big blow to debt advice after charity’s funding cut by half

More than 30 members of staff are on notice of redundancy at the Citizens Advice Bureau, which offers free confidential advice to people living in Hull and the East Riding.

The biggest blow is the loss of £430,000 Government funding, which is specifically for debt advice, and means eight specialist workers – seven in Hull and one in the East Riding, are being axed.

Workers at the independent charity deal with 1,700 debt cases a year, including complicated cases where they act on behalf of their clients as they try to navigate their way out of their problems and negotiate with debt collection agencies.

The financial difficulties of the last few years have accelerated a longer-term trend of more and more people struggling with debt.

Hull has one of the highest levels of personal insolvencies in the region. Figures rose from 257 in 2000 to 1,063 in 2009.

East Yorkshire Citizens Advice Bureau chief executive, Lesley Thornley said the most severe impact overall would be felt in Hull.

Hours at the drop-in centre where people could get advice on everything from benefits to housing, would be reduced.

She said: “Certainly in Hull there will be no paid debt case advisors.

“In the East Riding there will be two specialist debt workers, but they have most of their work is done under Legal Services Commission funding.

“The reason why Hull had the biggest team was because of multiple deprivation in Hull. People in the city will experience the biggest impact at a time when I’d suggest there was still significant multiple deprivation in the city.

“It’s a casework service not just an advice service. These are people who are acting on behalf of clients.

“They deal with complex needs like bankruptcy, debt relief orders, repossession and court action.

“They are not the sort of things clients tend to handle themselves with a little bit of advice and self help material.”

She added: “We are lobbying hard and actively looking for alternative sources of funding.”

Citizens Advice Bureau volunteer John Taylor fell into debt after leaving the RAF after 29 years, and going into several short-lived jobs.

The final straw came when he lost his job as a manager for a software house in Cambridge and ended up £45,000 in debt. Mr Taylor said: “I was institutionalised and didn’t know about debt management. In the forces I didn’t have money worries.”

Still struggling to find a job at nearly 60, Mr Taylor decided to keep occupied by volunteering for the CAB and now finds himself often giving advice in an area in which he has grown expert.

Mr Taylor said services in the East Riding were already hard to access and the cuts would make it harder still.

He said: “There aren’t enough advisors already. If they want help they have to go to Bridlington, and if they are in debt that isn’t always easy, and they have to be eligible for legal aid, otherwise we can only help them help themselves.

“Debt companies or debt collection agencies frequently refuse to listen to the client.

“It will make it harder for the client to see an advisor. The expert advisors will end up having to do more case work.”

Changes to legal aid will be a further barrier, said Mr Taylor.

At the moment they can act as advocates for clients if they are on income or employment support, or some kind of means tested benefit, but not if they have savings or a reasonable level of income.

“If you cut legal aid availability it will put more people out of the loop,” he said.

East Riding Council continues to support the Citizens Advice Bureau, as part of the Community Legal Advice network, awarding funding of £165,000.

The CAB currently employs 55 staff.