A Moray group that acts as a safety net for vulnerable people who fall victim to financial pressures may have to close its doors – because of council cuts.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in the region has been told its funding could be slashed by £30,000 by the local authority in next year’s budget.
Yesterday activists warned the decision would mean the charity would have to close its doors for good within a year after exhausting savings.
Eddie Coutts, chairman of Moray CAB’s management board, believes the organisation has been seen as a “soft target”.
But last night, council leader George Alexander insisted “a lot of consideration and soul searching” had gone into every decision in the budget proposals.
Mr Coutts has written to every councillor to urge them to oppose the move and ensure people in strife can still access essential advice.
He said: “If we were to close, I would like them to consider where these individuals, often some of the most vulnerable, might seek independent, comprehensive and free advice. Or are they simply to be written off as unimportant?”
Mr Coutts added: “It will come as no surprise that the demand for our services increase every year. During 2017 this rose to an all-time high of more than 7,000 client issues being dealt with – which equates to one in 20 of the adult population in Moray.
“Any funding decision taken which results in our closure would indicate the utter disregard for the future wellbeing of them.”
Councillors will meet on Wednesday to agree the final details of Moray Council’s budget for the forthcoming financial year.
During 2016 Moray CAB received £135,000 in core funding from the council. Last year a proposal to cut that total by £14,000 was thrown out following a vote.
Projects run by the group have managed to attract an extra £150,000 in funding to run specialist services.
It is estimated that for every £1 received by the bureau from Moray Council, it generates at least £4 in benefits.
James Workman, who volunteers for the group twice a week, said: “It’s not just advice we give, we can help direct people where to go to resolve issues they’re having at home or in work.
“Sometimes we also provide direct action. We’ve called debt collection agencies and helped fill out benefits claim forms. It makes a big difference to people.”
The charity is staffed by four paid employees but relies on a network of about 40 volunteers, who are trained to give advice.
Management believe the service would be unable to operate without the support of the Elgin office, which also runs outreach branches in Forres, Buckie, Keith, Tomintoul, Dufftown and Lossiemouth.
Mr Alexander said: “Not a single councillor in the administration wants to make any of these cuts. You wouldn’t believe the level of consideration that has gone into every proposal.
“We wrote to the Citizens Advice Bureau to ask them about their opinions to various options and we received a letter back.”
During 2016/17 the CAB dealt with more than 2,200 benefits, tax credit and national insurance issues, 963 housing issues, 759 legal issues and 703 employment issues.