A MASSIVE shake-up of Waverley's Citizens' Advice Bureaux is looking likely following the publication of a feasibility report. Merging the management of the borough's vital advice service is on the cards in a bid to slash costs and improve efficiency. On Monday, members of Waverley Borough Council's community overview and scrutiny committee learned the results of a special report into "merging" the management structure of the borough's CAB. The committee heard that Waverley's four CAB have no long-term future unless radical changes are implemented. The major source of funding for the CAB comes from local council grants but the failure to increase the grants in line with inflation has forced the bureaux into a mini funding crisis. Despite digging into its reserves, Haslemere and Cranleigh CAB is predicting a £5,000 deficit in the current financial year, while Farnham is budgeting for a £14,000 deficit. Godalming is likely to break even. One of the problems facing the bureaux is the difficulty with attracting grant funding. In the current financial year, Waverley Borough Council is expected to hand over a total of £212,337 to support the CAB, while Farnham Town Council gave a £28,000 grant, Godalming Town Council a £21,000 grant and Haslemere Town Council a £5,000 grant. However, tight budgets are increasingly making it difficult for councils to support the facilities which has contributed towards the financial problems. On top of this, rental costs and other costs of the offices vary, with Godalming picking up a £30,000 bill, Farnham a £22,000 bill, Haslemere paying £15,000 and Cranleigh £8,500. "Funding from Waverley Borough Council has eroded in real terms in recent years with grants not being linked to inflation," said the report to Monday's committee. "The service overall is not sustainable in the short term on income alone, but providing the status quo is maintained, can by drawing on reserves, be sustained in the medium term. It is not sustainable in the long term." The special report recommended a list of measures to use the CAB's cash more efficiently while providing a better service. "The CAB service now operates in an environment within which it must prove its worth, embrace innovation and plan for the future." Top of the list is for the CAB to be merged with one trustee board, one overall manager and three supervisors - a system which has been successful in other parts of the country. A "group" action plan could then be implemented, volunteers and staff could be recruited and trained centrally and the four offices would be working much closer together and be more pro-active. On top of this, it is proposed in the report that telephone advice is provided through one borough- wide telephone number, email advice is via one borough-wide email address and the use of web- based information and advice should be promoted. The relocation of the CAB office in Godalming is also at the top of the priority list as well as ensuring that an office remains at Haslemere, Farnham and Cranleigh. "In line with the rest of the country, the Waverley CAB are facing an ever-more competitive environment with increasing demands being made on limited budgets by the voluntary and community sectors overall," the report said. "If the CAB is to remain viable, competitive and sustainable, it is important that it is able to demonstrate that its own strategy complements and contributes to its local authority's strategic priorities and that it can contribute effectively at a strategic level. "It is equally important that a CAB is able to demonstrate that it works closely with other agencies, does not replicate services and can build productive relationships at both strategic and operational levels. There remains a clear expectation that local authorities are the core funders of what is essentially a key service to the community that not only helps individuals but generates income for the local economy." Town and parish councils are to be consulted on the proposals before a final decision is taken.
