OVER 2,000 people in South Worcestershire who get free advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau are threatened by cuts to the charity's debt advice service.
South Worcestershire CAB is losing half the money it gets from the government-funded Money Advice Service .
CAB chief officer Les Kinmond, said: “The MAS does not realise the extent of deprivation in pockets of South Worcestershire and the difficulties in delivering advice services in rural areas. Our MPs, Harriett Baldwin and Sir Peter Luff, are being most helpful, but it is going to be hard to reverse the decision.
“South Worcestershire has no law centres, no solicitors specialising in delivering free social welfare law, and no funded debt centres. We are the major port of call for vulnerable people.
"We handle over 40 debt cases per week, almost 30 per cent of our total cases. If interest rates rise, this problem will get worse, not better.
"It is not only the specialist debt service that is at risk, the CAB is a charity and does not receive any guaranteed government funding.
"Consistent cuts in specialist funding have reduced our ability to deliver core general advice services, and this latest blow will only put the service at greater risk."
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