Whitehill and Bordon CAB

The Citizens’ Advice Bureau has had another challenging year with pressure on its resources, funding and service. I am pleased to report that we have continued to work together to overcome these with vigour and commitment.
Our staff, volunteers and supporters continue to do an excellent job under difficult circumstances. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for working within the constraints with good humour and enthusiasm. The management team, led by Diana Wilson, continues to maintain, motivate and inspire a largely voluntary workforce. She has been successful in recruiting additional specialists and in finding volunteers to replace those lost through retirement and moves away.

In these ever challenging times it is more important than ever that there is a trusted organisation that can offer confidential independent advice. The ‘open door’ policy operated by Whitehill and Bordon CAB, enables clients to access that advice readily and easily. However, the bureau is constantly exploring methods of delivering advice effectively and efficiently for the benefit of our clients.

During the past year we have seen a slight decrease of 3.54% in clients which actually corresponds with a 1.99% decrease in client enquiries. This indicates an on-going trend of more enquiries per client, and the problems created by the complexity and length of time each client needs.
Throughout the year we have continued the regular dialogue with our Bureau colleagues at Alton and Petersfield to find means to work more effectively together to improve our services to our clients. We are joining a new Consortium of all Hampshire Bureaux with the aim of coordinating activities across the county to access funding and increase capacity.

2007/2008 will be a key year for the Bureau. There are major challenges to secure our core funding, involving the renewal of our three year Service Level agreement with EHDC, the replacement of specific funding from the Big Lottery and securing the future of the home visiting service. We will be redoubling our efforts to raise additional funds through our own efforts.

In conclusion, advice can play a critical role in regenerating communities. We in the Whitehill and Bordon CAB with the unstinting support of all our funders are privileged to serve the community.