Citizens Advice Ceredigion trustees have made funding challenges a priority in a year which marks the 80th anniversary of the Bureau.

In these times of austerity Citizens Advice Ceredigion is not immune to the issues of funding pressures as it is a charity and reliant on donations and grant funding to operate its services, so this is a priority for the new board working under the rules of the Citizen’s Advice nationally.

After many successful years leading the board of Citizens Advice Ceredigion, Paul Hinge has stepped in to the vice-chair role and the board welcomed new members, Ola Olusanya, Carolyn Parry and Jackie Sayce.

New chair of the board, Sue Chambers said: “Citizens Advice plays a vital role to people in Ceredigion.

“Providing independent, confidential, impartial and free advice and guidance about a wide range of issues, our staff and volunteers can make a huge difference to people’s lives.

“It can be daunting for people to know where to go to or who to talk to in organisations about such sensitive issues as trying to manage a debt or difficulties understanding their entitlement to benefits or consumer and legal rights.

“And that’s where our staff and volunteers come in.

“To those people who have no other means of accessing support they can make a huge difference and may ultimately take them and their families out of poverty.

“Managing funding challenges is the greatest issue we face.

“We are a charity and rely on donations and financial support from public bodies such as local councils and some of this funding has recently reduced significantly.

“To continue to have a Citizens Advice presence across Ceredigion we must find a way of investing just to stand still and that means identifying new ways of funding."

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