Citizen advice services in Brightlingsea and Tendring has been thrown a six-month lifeline after funding was threatened.
Fears that the Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) service would end followed an anouncement by Tendring District Council (TDC) that its £144,000 annual grant was to be reviewed.
But now the council’s cabinet has approved a £72,000 grant at its January 31 meeting, which will keep services running until October. The council says it will now “start looking for a wraparound information and advice service for local residents while ensuring value for money for taxpayers”.
TDC says it is doing this to “ensure future services provide value for money while setting a clear specification of the required services to reflect changing needs in the district since the service was originally funded”. The tender process will be open to advice providers including CAT, which has been funded by TDC for the past 13 years.
Gina Placey, TDC’s cabinet member for partnerships said: “It is our responsibility to ensure that taxpayers’ money is used efficiently. This approach is fair to all voluntary organisations providing diverse services within our community.”
In 2023/24 CAT gave help and advice to 11,765 people – 50% up on the previous year. Welfare benefits were increased by over £4.2m, while over £961,000 worth of client debts were written off. In the first six months of 2024/25, the service saw a 25% increase in the number of people seeking help.
CAT services are available in Brightlingsea on Wednesdays from 10am to noon in the Parish Hall in Victoria Place. For information, call 01255 377080 or visit https://cabtendring.org.uk.
