Citizens Advice is rolling out extra support for rural communities and market towns in order to meet a 20 per cent rise in demand on its services during the recession.
Since the onset of the recession some of the region’s market towns have seen unemployment rise by more than 50 per cent, while demand for services has risen by more than 20 per cent.
Following the West Midlands Taskforce recommendation Advantage West Midlands has provided a £150,000 support package for local Citizens Advice Bureaux to deal with increasing demands on their service.
The aim of the package is to ensure people living in the market towns and rural areas have access to independent advice on any employment, financial or social issues they face.
The short term measures to boost the region’s market towns and rural areas covered by Advantage West Midlands also included targeted support for large rural employers to help them retain jobs and build resilience and a £250,000 package to help retailers in market towns.
Sue Wigley, Area Director Central England, Citizens Advice, said:
“The impact of the recession has seen a 21 per cent increase in clients coming through the doors of Citizens Advice Bureaux in the West Midlands. We very much welcome the partnership built with Advantage West Midlands, through the Taskforce.
“The partnership funding is providing bureaux with increased capacity to support the increased community demand. Bureaux are providing increased levels of advice, alongside working to up-skill more volunteers to become job ready. With the extra support we have already helped an additional 500 people in the market towns in just two months.”
Helen Hill, a recently recruited Wychavon CAB volunteer adviser and law graduate, said:
“I didn’t realise how much real demand there is but there is a huge wealth of expertise and untapped resource here and we are making a real difference.
“We are seeing a whole range of people who prior to the recession would never have come across the threshold of CAB. One senior professional I have seen has been unexpectedly selected for redundancy. She had no idea what to do but we are helping to familiarise her with the benefits and support system.
“The taskforce support has helped to ensure we see more people, more quickly, getting them on the road to help that much faster, which is crucial.
“At the same time, people like me, who have been recruited to deliver the additional support service, are being helped to re-skill to return to the workplace.”
Mark Pearce, Corporate Director for Economic Regeneration at Advantage West Midlands, said:
“The region’s market towns have been hit hard by the recession and while measures have been put in place to help large employers and retailers survive, the Taskforce wanted to make sure individuals and communities had access to independent advice and guidance.
“Many of these communities are reliant on a few local employers, the local high streets and tourism for their livelihoods. When jobs are lost or people are uncertain about their future it is important that they have somewhere to go to get good impartial advice, alongside the support detailed at www.supportwm.co.uk ."
The measures introduced are above and beyond Advantage West Midlands’ current rural programmes and will see real benefit to rural communities across the region.
For a list of all the initiatives and support services available to businesses and individuals in the West Midlands currently being affected by the downturn, go to www.supportwm.co.uk
Support measures in more detail:
Large scale employers who provide the majority of an area’s local employment will be offered a package of possible support and resilience planning both for dealing with the recession and planning for the future.
An additional £150,000 for local Bureaux to ensure there is an appropriate advisory service available in rural areas and market towns.
A £250k package has been allocated to support the retail sector in particularly badly affected market towns through delivery of a skillsmart programme with follow up business support and skills delivery.
The West Midlands Taskforce has been set up to ensure that public sector agencies and business support organisations work together to mitigate the impact of the recession and ensure effective support is provided to the businesses, individuals and communities affected.
The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers.
For more information in England and Wales see www.citizensadvice.org.uk
For more information and 2008/9 service statistics see Introduction to the Service
For 2008/9 service highlights see the Citizens Advice impact report
For 2008/9 social policy campaigning highlights see the Citizens Advice social policy impact report