• Business
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • What’s On
  • Traffic & Travel
  • Weather
Bath Echo
  • Saturday 14th June 2025
  • Subscribe
  • Opinion
  • Reviews
  • Letters
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Latest Issue
  • Jobs
  • Awards
Bath Echo

Bath, GB

  • Business
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • What’s On
  • Traffic & Travel
  • Weather
Home
News Headlines

B&NES Advice Service Wins Temporary Reprieve

Monday 18th November 2013 Bath Echo News Team News Headlines

Share
Tweet
WhatsApp
Pin
Share

The Citizens Advice Bureau in Bath has won a temporary reprieve from planned budget cuts of over 55% after councillors agreed to call a pause to the tender process for the new contract.

During a heated Full Council debate last Thursday, 14th November, councillors eventually voted in favour of a Conservative proposal which calls upon the Council to go back to the drawing board and produce an Advice Services Strategy before deciding whether or not to go ahead with such deep budget cuts.

During the meeting, councillors heard impassioned pleas from residents and volunteers at the Citizens Advice Bureau who called upon the Council to rethink plans to cut its advice services budget from £407,000 a year to just £182,000.

The authority’s Liberal Democrat Cabinet faced heavy criticism from Conservative councillors for its mishandling of the Council’s advice services contract and its failure to produce an Advice Services Strategy.

In scenes witnesses described as ‘farcical’, Liberal Democrat councillors ultimately dropped their own motion, which would have committed the Council to pushing ahead with the plans, and decided to instead support a Conservative proposal calling a pause to the process.

Conservative shadow spokesman for Wellbeing, Cllr Vic Pritchard moved the Conservative proposal.

He said: “The fact that over 4,000 people signed a petition against the Council’s cuts to the CAB demonstrates just how passionate people are about this subject.

“It’s clear just how much people value having a high-profile generalist advice service which they know they can turn to during times of difficulty. If the Liberal Democrats had been allowed to plough on with their previous plans this service could be lost forever.

“The tender process for the Council’s advice services contract has been completely mishandled right from the start, and sadly there appears to have been a complete breakdown of relations between B&NES and the CAB. It defies logic that the Council can issue a tender for advice services before producing a strategy which details what it wants from the service.  Some savings can of course be made, but until an Advice Services Strategy is in place it’s impossible to say exactly what the budget should be.

“By pausing the tender process this will allow the Council to go back to the drawing board, repair relations with the CAB, and produce its promised Advice Service Strategy.

“We’re pleased the Lib Dems eventually agreed to support this approach, it’s just a shame that we came up with such resistance and witnessed such farcical scenes from the administration before achieving this outcome.”

Share
Tweet
WhatsApp
Pin
Share
Next article Mechanics Urged To Be Vigilant After Fatal Hit And Run
Previous article Peasedown St John Council Backs Equal Opportunities For All

Related Stories

British champ named as latest Team Bath Athlete of the Month
Friday 28th March 2025

British champ named as latest Team Bath Athlete of the Month

Firefighters investigating ways of tackling blazes involving batteries
Tuesday 4th April 2023

Firefighters investigating ways of tackling blazes involving batteries

Bath City Farm - Helen Fisher (April 2020)
Tuesday 28th April 2020

Bath City Farm - Helen Fisher (April 2020)

...
Followers
Follow
...
Followers
Follow
...
Followers
Follow

Top Stories

Magistrates give ‘one last lifeline’ for Bath man facing prison

Magistrates give ‘one last lifeline’ for Bath man facing prison

Friday 13th June 2025
Twerton Flower Show is revived after a century thanks to grant

Twerton Flower Show is revived after a century thanks to grant

Friday 13th June 2025
Group calls for respite service to stay open until October 2026

Group calls for respite service to stay open until October 2026

Friday 13th June 2025
Bike Workshop operated by Bath charity Julian House to close

Bike Workshop operated by Bath charity Julian House to close

Friday 13th June 2025
‘Terrifying’ dog attack in park after it escapes from nearby home

‘Terrifying’ dog attack in park after it escapes from nearby home

Friday 13th June 2025
  • Business
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Education
  • Health
  • Politics
  • What’s On
  • Traffic & Travel
  • Weather
  • Back to top
Created by Media Bath - Regulated by IMPRESS

About the Bath Echo | Your City, Your News

We're your local independent newspaper covering news and events across beautiful Bath and the close surrounding villages. We're here to help keep Bathonians in the know about what's going on in their city.

Useful Info

  • House Rules
  • Cookie Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Social Media Policy
© Bath Echo 2025. All rights reserved.
Produced by Media Bath Limited