Splitting the cost of a CAB

27 Sep 2010 Voices

A lot of lessons can be learned from the Citizens Advice Bureaux says Big Society blogger Gordon Hunter, who calls for some creative thinking to make the most out of local resources.

A lot of lessons can be learnt from the Citizens Advice Bureaux says Big Society blogger Gordon Hunter, who calls for some creative thinking to make the most out of local resources.  

You can't get much more local than the Citizens Advice Bureaux. They are an excellent social barometer. They predict climatic trends in local communities.

We have seven bureaux handling 100,000 enquiries from Lincolnshire's one million population. Debt cases grew by 30 per cent last year. Their advisers volunteered 100,000 hours worth £1.5m* in 2009.

They're also good at predicting income which, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, could fall by 25 per cent next year. Where's the logic in shifting responsibility to local agencies but at the same time cutting their budgets?

We know volunteering works well but it needs a stable platform. Look at the National Trust: turnover down, volunteering up (61,000 - most of them wearing purple), profits up to a whacking £58m. They also have some handy assets and a portfolio of businesses.

Our Citizens Advice Bureaux should be so lucky! Or could they? Rather than reduce their income, we might look at developing self-sustaining strategies: debt management training, joint working with credit unions, work experience for law students, sponsorship from High Street banks. Let's see some creative thinking.

NB* What is volunteering worth? I note the financial service ombudsman caps compensation at £10 an hour, well below the national average wage. How many bankers earn that little?

Gordon Hunter is director of the Lincolnshire Community Foundation

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