A year on and CAB still offers very good advice

Published: 28 April, 2011

• CAMDEN CAB restructured its advice delivery service in 2010. 

This was, the subject of concern to your readers with a number of letters suggesting the proposals of the board of trustees would make the service “unworkable” (Letters October 29 2009) and left some “fearing for the welfare of our clients” (November 12 2009).

After a year of operation I believe I can reassure your readers. 

We now have volunteer advisers in all our three bureaux location (and elsewhere) and have achieved significant costs savings yet with increased opening hours.  

We have improved community involvement and accountability with volunteers drawn from Camden to advise the people of Camden.  

Most important of all, the new model has not resulted in a drop in the standard of the advice we deliver; quite the reverse.  

The recent independent audit by the national charity Citizens Advice showed a marked increase in advice quality. Camden CAB’s “very good” advice is currently ranked in the highest audit band possible for quality of advice.

That this has been possible is down to the tremendous skill and dedication of our staff and volunteers.  

I would like to take the opportunity to publicly congratulate them on their achievement and thank them for their hard work. 

We have also benefited from the stalwart support of the London Borough of Camden.  

In these difficult times there has never been a greater need for the services of the CAB. Camden CAB delivers outstanding service at outstanding value to the citizens of Camden.

I very much hope that this will be reflected when the London Borough of Camden next commissions advice provision.

BENET BRANDRETH
Chair of Trustees, NW5