Published at 16:11, Tuesday, 12 March 2013

HUNDREDS of people struggling under mounting debt have been given help by an advice agency.

Barrow Citizens’ Advice Bureau provides advice to hundreds of people every year as they struggle to cope with millions of pounds worth of debt.

Cumbria County Council’s local committee for Barrow heard on Friday that the Barrow branch dealt with 94 per cent more cases than it was required to in 2010 to 2011.

The organisation offered 377 people help to manage more than £3.7m worth of debt during this period, and Georgina Ternent, the county council’s strategic policy adviser said the council was happy to extend the contract by two years.

She said: “I am happy that the contract has been awarded to the existing provider. Delivery from April will continue in the Barrow area with the CAB and Christine McKinley (Barrow bureau manager) leading the scheme.”

Ms Ternent said the work of the Barrow bureau had been amazing but said the council has found that debt problems across the county are rising.

Speaking before the meeting, Ms McKinley said the council contract was a key part of the CAB’s work.

She said: “If we hadn’t won that contract I would have had to have made at least one of our debt case workers redundant.

“We wouldn’t have been able to provide the same level of service and that would have meant that people then would have had nowhere to go for debt advice which is face-to-face and local.”

Members of the committee praised the CAB’s work and said that with impending welfare reforms, the service will be more important than ever.

Councillor Anne Burns said: “Just think what would happen in this town if we didn’t have this advice service.

“It helps people who are so desperate and need it when they are at their wit’s end.”

Councillor Kevin Hamilton said: “It is not going to get any easier. On April 1, we have the bedroom tax coming in.”

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