Nigel Dodds urged to deliver the goods for CAB centres

A Northern Ireland assembly member has called on the Minister for Social Development, Nigel Dodds to provide more funding to further assist the work of Citizens Advice Bureau’s throughout Northern Ireland.

Billy Armstrong, Ulster Unionist Assembly Member for Mid-Ulster said that money which filters down from the Department of Social Development to local Citizen Advice Bureaux across the province is “totally inadequate” to cover the full costs of operating such advice centres.

Mr Armstrong said: “The Citizen Advice Bureau’s fulfil a vital role in society and also assist others such as District councillors and health workers whose job is to sort out the many problems which beset all of us at some time or another.

“It has come to my attention that whilst District Councils support the Citizen Advice Bureaux within the limits of their resources through the Rate Support Grant which filters down from the Department of Social Development, nonetheless the amounts involved are, in my opinion totally inadequate to cover the full complement of assistance supplied through the advice centres.

“District Council support only covers the core funding. Any specialist posts such as those which deal with debt and tribunal advocacy, are usually funded through European or Lottery money. The funding they receive is normally only for three years and so after about two years have elapsed serious concerns arise as to the workers future employment. This does not make for good continuity of service.

“Each year in Northern Ireland approximately 6,800 social security type tribunals are heard, without representation for the member of the public concerned. This is a serious state of affairs when you consider that these have a success rate of one in four whereas those cases where independent representation is available have double the success rate.”

“The work of the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux throughout Northern Ireland must be further supported and the Department of Social Development must do so by providing further resources.”

(AMcE)