Cab making residents £500,000 better off
PEOPLE in Wear Valley were £500,000 better off last year thanks to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (Cab).
Figures released this week show the bureau based at the Four Clocks Centre helped 3,417 people between May in 2008 and April 2009, a 46 per cent rise on the number of people using the service.
People in Wear Valley claimed £501,004 in benefits after visiting the Cab and bureau manager Carol Shreeve said she was pleased so many people had benefitted from using them.
She said: “That’s a lot of money that people were entitled to but wouldn’t have claimed. We have expanded this year and offer lots of services for people and this was the first time we got over the £500,000 mark. That was a 28 per cent increase on last year.”
Carol also revealed that the number of enquiries has risen 27 per cent and for the first time there were more debt queries than issues related to welfare claims.
The bureau at the Four Clocks Centre is open from 10am to 1pm from Monday to Thursday and advice over the telephone is available from 10am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Anyone can call into the bureau at Four Clocks Centre, 154A Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7EH or ring on 01388 606661.